My Gifts for His Glory (Series)
I Am Naturally Gifted
Sunday January 6, 2006 am
Reading: Matthew 25:14-30
Introduction:
This morning, I want to begin a new series entitled, “My Gifts for His Glory”. In this series, I hope to accomplish the following:
* To demonstrate the unique giftedness of every Christian.
* To illustrate the importance of understanding and using our gifts.
* To examine the ways in which God gifts us as Christians.
* To expound upon the proper and improper uses of God’s gifts.
* To encourage and exhort each of us to discover, develop and use our gifts to the glory of God.
The title of today’s lesson is “I Am Gifted” and today my goal is to help each of to appreciate the fact that we all have some gift, which has been given to us by God for his glory.
Lesson:
I. Life itself is a gift.
A. One of the characteristics of God is that he is self-existent.
1. God always was and always shall be. As the song declares, “Who wast and art and evermore shall be.”
2. And while we were created in God’s image, the very fact that we were created indicates that we, as human creatures do not have the attribute of self-existence.
a. We have a beginning; at some moment in time, we were conceived and eventually born into this world.
b. But that is not the case with God. In that respect he is unique. He is the creator of all things.
3. The law of cause and effect tells us that all “effects” must have a cause.
a. But reason tells us that if something exists, there either must have been something that caused it to come into existence, or that at least one thing is self-existent.
b. Science has been unsuccessful at determining the identity of anything that is self-existent.
c. The Bible, on the other hand, declares that God is self-existent. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
d. The Bible also tells us about Jesus, that...
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven or on earth, visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:15-17)
B. That being the case, the fact that we even exist is a gift from God.
1. He was under no compulsion to create us.
2. Life is His gift to us. It is a very precious gift. A very fragile gift at times.
3. A gift from God.
C. That being the case, what are you doing with your life?
1. The life that God has given us (or gifted us with) is more than mere existence.
2. The life that God has gifted you has a purpose. “All things (that includes you) were created through Him and for Him”
a. Therein lies the problem that plagues most of humanity.
1) Many people believe that their existence is a mere freak accident; that their life has no purpose whatsoever.
2) Others believe that the purpose of their existence is to do whatever they please.
3) But, if we believe the Word of God, our purpose is “for Him”.
b. We were created for Him.
1) Some people are uncomfortable with this.
2) But think about it, if we were created for Him, then our lives have a purpose that transcends time and space; we have an eternal purpose and an eternal destiny. That’s good news!
D. As a citizen of planet earth, what is my purpose?
1. The writer of Ecclesiastes put it this way, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is the whole duty of Man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
2. Micah put it this way, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
3. If you’re saying to yourself, “That’s too hard, I can’t do that.” Let me tell you this: Any other way is harder still.
4. Is it a challenge? Of course it is. Anything that is worthwhile involves a challenge.
5. Is it impossible? Let me say this, God will give you all the grace you need.
E. Life is a gift, how will you use it.
II. You are unique.
A. There is no one else on earth exactly like you...
1. Scientists have now cloned a variety of animals...exact duplicates to the molecular level...identical DNA.
2. But there is one thing that cannot be cloned, and that is the human soul.
3. One day, scientists may even be able to clone human beings.
a. There is much concern about this; the ethics of cloning is hotly debated.
b. But God has been cloning humans for a long time.
1) They’re called identical twins.
2) Or triplets.
c. Yet even though they are identical at the cellular and even the molecular level, they are still quite unique.
4. Even if you are an identical twin, you are unique.
B. How many people have lived and died since the creation of the world?
1. Only God knows.
2. Yet each one is unique.
C. One of the things that makes you unique is the unique combination of gifts and abilities that God has given you.
D. Some of these gifts and abilities you were born with.
1. We might call these your natural or innate abilities.
2. Your intelligence, your athletic ability, the quality of your voice.
3. While these things can be nurtured and skills honed, to at least some degree, these things are limited by your genetics.
E. Wouldn’t the world be a boring place if we were all identical?
1. Sports fans? What would be the point if every game was a tie?
2. Finding a mate? They’re all the same!
3. Finding a job? What sets you apart?
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10).
F. God’s grace is varied; the gifts he gives are not all the same; We are unique; each one of us is different.
III. Your natural, innate giftedness does not determine your value as a person.
A. As fallen, sinful human beings, we tend to elevate certain innate characteristics as being more valuable, more important than others.
B. But this is wrong. This is not the way that God looks at us.
C. Some people value intelligence over strength.
1. They think that being smart is the most important thing in the world, but its not.
2. They look at someone of lower intelligence to be somehow inferior.
D. Other people value strength over intelligence.
1. They might say things like, “Only the strong survive.” But they are wrong too.
2. They think that athletic ability makes them somehow superior.
E. But the truth of the matter is that our giftedness does not determine our worth or value.
1. It’s not what we have, but what we do with what we have.
2. In the parable of the talents,
a. The master does not praise the five talent man for having five talents, but what he did with the five talents he had.
b. After all, even the five talents he had were not innately his, they were given to him to begin with, they belonged to the Master.
c. And the one talent man is not faulted for only having one talent, he is faulted for not doing anything with the talent he had been given.
IV. What are you doing with your life?
A. We tend to define who we are by what we do.
1. We might say, “I’m an accountant,” or “I’m a policeman,” or “I’m a secretary,” or “I’m a store clerk.”
2. But what are you doing as an accountant, a policeman, a secretary, or a store clerk to make a difference in the world?
B. I believe that we must all ask ourselves, “What does God want me to do with my life?”
1. If God wants you to be an accountant, than be an accountant.
2. If he wants you to be a store clerk, be a store clerk.
3. But if God wants you to be an accountant, don’t be a store clerk.
4. And if God wants you to be a store clerk, don’t be an accountant.
5. And understand that God’s plan for you may not be static.
a. At one point in your life, he may want you to be a store clerk.
b. But at another time, he may want you to be an accountant.
C. Perhaps the question you all may be asking is this, “How do I know what God wants me to with my life?”
1. Not an easy question to answer.
2. It’s not a question that I or anyone else can answer for you.
3. But I can give you this simple guideline: God wants you do do whatever it is that utilizes your unique set of gifts to their greatest effectiveness and to his glory.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace....in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:10-11).
4. The only way that you can know what God wants you to do with your life is to sit down and inventory the gifts he has given you and come up with a plan as to how to use those gifts to their greatest ability and to God’s glory.
5. But is we don’t know what our gifts are, how can we use them to their greatest ability? We can’t.
D. I remember when our kids were growing up, they used to sing a song in cradle roll...
1. If I am a fireman when I grow up...I’ll be a Christian fireman when I grow up.
2. If I am a doctor when I grow up...I’ll be a Christian doctor when I grow up.
E. Even more important that the question, “What does God want me to do with my life?” is the question, “How can I do what I do to God’s greatest glory?”
1. Even more important the question of, What will I do?” is the question “How will I do it?”
2. Paul gives us this advice:
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24).
3. Are you working for your paycheck or for your reward?
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father,
We come before you in praise and adoration. You are awesome in your deeds towards us. For you formed our inward parts; you knitted us together in our mothers’ wombs. We praise you for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our souls well know that your works are indeed wonderful. You have blessed us with life, even life abundant with hope and joy, trial and struggle, victory and reward. You have scattered your gifts among us as a farmer scatters seed in a field, with hope of an abundant harvest. We thank you, Father, for the unique way in which you have gifted each one of us. Help us, Father to use our gifts to your glory. May our lives shine like a city on a hill. May we seek your way and follow it. May your Spirit fill us to overflowing. May your Son intercede on our behalf as he stands in your presence, at your right hand. May we serve you with gladness all the days of our life and throughout all eternity. In Jesus name. Amen.
Invitation
