Volume 45, No. 19
Romans 12:1-8; I Corinthians 12
Sermon prepared by Rev. Jack Quartel, Kitchener, Ont.
Proposed Order of Service
Opening hymn #199
Hymn after God's will (or confession of faith) #76
Hymn before sermon #566
Scripture: Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12
Text: 1 Corinthians 12:11
Sermon: "Discover your gifts"
Hymn of response #523
Closing hymn #418
Sermon
Congregation. A number of years ago, Pierre Berton wrote a little
book, entitled The Comfortable Pew. He severely criticized
the members of the church for sitting back to receive without getting
up to give. He predicted that this would be the death of the church.
And though Pierre Berton is no theologian, he was right about the
future of any church where ministry is left to those who are supposed
to be experts.
Of course it is tempting to sit back, to take it easy, to let others
do the work. The result however is devastating. First of all to
the church, because there is more work than a few so-called experts
can handle. But also for those who think they can sit back and watch.
Non-involvement means dying for both the church and those members,
who unlike Jesus, seek to be ministered unto, rather than to minister.
The comfortable pew means that the burdens of the ministry are left
for the shoulders of a few. And it will result in quick burn-out.
It will result in, sometimes, severe criticism on the part of those
who do nothing. And that will bring more discouragement to hard
workers. And one more result may be that those who stand back will
live on the edge of the church, always in danger of falling over
the edge and losing it all.
But the Bible has news for us. Being a member of the church means
that you, according to your ability take part in the ministry of
the church. No one is excepted, not even those who think there is
nothing they have to contribute. Every church member has been given
at least one gift. So what we need to do is to: DISCOVER YOUR GIFTS.
These gifts are: l. Body, 2. Spiritual gifts.
In 1 Corinthians 12:11, Paul, writing about the Spirit giving
gifts, says: "He gives them to each man (person)." And
that gift is a body gift. By that he means that these gifts are
given to the body of Jesus for the work of the church. It is important
for us to think about the fact that together all members form the
body of Jesus. And of that body, Jesus is the Head. What does that
imply'?
When Jesus was with us, here on earth, He finished the work that
He came to do. He opened the way to the Father, the way home. He
removed the terrible road block formed by our sin. That however
did not mean that nothing remained to be done. For instance there
are children who need to be informed that the way home is open.
They need an invitation to come back to the Father. They need to
be guided. Furthermore all God's children need to be prepared for
living at home. They need that simply because they know naturally
how to live in this God forsaken world, but they have to learn anew
how to live in the home with their Father. They need to be integrated
into the body, they need to learn about fellowship, and many other
aspects of living with and for God. They need to learn how to live
in the kingdom, they need to learn how to assist in the coming of
that kingdom.
So Jesus, when He had to return to heaven, from there to rule
His church, sent us the Holy Spirit in His place. The Spirit came
to live in our hearts, to transform us, or sanctify us for living
at home. By His very nature, He remains in the background. He works
behind the scenes. There He encourages us to do the work of Jesus,
to finish what is still left uncompleted: Gathering all the nations
in, calling all men to give God the glory, uniting into the body
of Jesus.
We need to think about that for a moment. If we are His body,
and if He completes what He began, but through us, that means that
unless we the church members do the work, it will not get done.
It means that if Jesus wants to speak to the world, we are His mouth.
We have to do the speaking. We are the voice of Jesus, if we obey
and listen to Him. No one can hear Jesus except through us. If Jesus
wishes to go into the world, there, where His lost children are,
we are His feet. Jesus only goes there through us. And if He wishes
to touch anyone in blessing, He will do so only through the touch
of our hands. That is what it means to be His body.
The one task the church has is to finish the work of salvation.
To prepare the world for His return. To get everyone ready for the
great climax when the earth and the heavens will be renewed and
united. Everything we do is geared towards that end. The production
of food, transportation, working with computers, everything we do,
must be to the glory of God, that is, to get His work done. Even
recreation is never an end in itself, but a means to gain new energy
to continue to serve Him in ALL that we do. Anything else is a waste
of time. Or worse, it could even oppose the completion of the work
and the return of Jesus.
If we then are the body of Jesus, it must be helpful to think
for a moment how God made the human body. Because Jesus' body functions
just like it.
What happens when even one small part of our body malfunctions?
Let us say that we have a hurting, infected small toe. That is surely
not the end of the world. But what will it do? First of all it drains
us. It takes time and energy to fight and overcome the infection.
We cannot let it go, lest it spreads. We have to go and see the
doctor. We probably will have to go to the drug store. We may have
to bathe that toe. Such things are really a bit of a nuisance, because they us away from things we would rather do. Things that are more
important. Furthermore, an infected little toe can be very painful.
It may make walking difficult. It may, if the pain is severe, make
concentrating difficult, sleeping impossible. All in all it is a
pain to have even an infected little toe, let alone that we struggle
with kidney, liver or heart problems.
That is what happens in the church. When one small member does
not function, it interferes with the task of the body. When one
small member is infected and needs time and attention, it drains
the church of energy, and makes it difficult to get on with her
calling. If that same member begins to cause pain, when that
member becomes critical, when he gets into spiritual trouble, you
can just imagine what that will do in a church. Such a member drains
energy, siphons it from doing the work of God, to itself. Pew warmers,
those who seek only their own comfort, those who contribute little
or nothing, those who fail to give according to their ability, are
the cause of a church that is often sick, weak and unable to do
much for the Lord.
Sometimes we may wonder why people in church are not more happy,
why there are always financial strains, why it is difficult to get
people to teach or lead, in short, why it is such a struggle. It
is because part of the body fails to cooperate, to give, to share
and instead drains the church of resources and energy.
The body that is totally healthy — the body where all parts
function as they should — and are doing what they were made
to do — is a healthy body. Only the church where everyone
gives as he or she has been given can be productive, a growing and
a happy church. For the gifts we have been given are body gifts.
Gifts to be fully used for and through the body of Jesus.
The next thing we want to notice is that these gifts are spiritual.
That means first of all as Paul, again, says in 1 Corinthians 12:11,
that these gifts are given by the Spirit. Each member, no matter
who he or she is, has a minimum of one gift. Often people have more
than one gift. These gifts therefore, are spiritual, they come from
heaven. They are also spiritual as distinct from natural. Only the
two are very closely related.
Let us say that there is a young man who is naturally gifted in
sports. He is a superb hockey player for instance. That is a natural
gift. Not all that different from a spiritual gift, in that this
gift is also heavenly, this young man holds this gift via creation.
The God who made Him, the Spirit who was involved in creation, gave
him that special gift. Not everyone has it.
A spiritual gift differs from a natural one in that it is used
through the church for God. Let us say someone has a way with little
children, or young people. That sometimes quite naturally leads
to becoming a good teacher. That gift may be used in Christian education
or church education. It may be used to lead children to the Lord,
to strengthen them in the faith, or beyond that in shaping them
and their gifts in the service of God. That is a spiritual gift.
So how do you then discover what your gift or gifts, received
from the Holy Spirit, really are? There are a number of things that
will point the way. First there are things you enjoy doing. You
enjoy them, because you are good at them. And you are good at them
more than likely because that is a gift, a spiritual gift. Secondly,
you may discover that there is something that you can do better
than most people. Probably because that is a gift of the Spirit.
And a third thing is the confirmation of others. People are generally
critical. But when someone does an excellent job there are always
people who will tell you that. They will show amazement, surprise,
gratitude for what you have done. Probably because that is a gift.
But some spiritual gifts are slumbering. That is to say we are
not aware of them. Again we may have the gift of teaching, but we
were never in the position of testing ourselves and so we remain
unaware of it. In that case there are seminars or workshops that
will help you discover these slumbering, still hidden gifts. That
is necessary of course. Hidden talents must be discovered, for the
church has a dire need of them.
We need to mention also the difference between the more ordinary
gifts we have spoken about, and the sensational ones that
Paul mentions here. There is the gift of tongues, of healing, of
miracles. Especially the last two are much desired, simply because
you can make a powerful impression when you miraculously heal other
people. It is sensational compared to, for instance, the gift of
serving, helping behind the scenes, largely unnoticed.
We need to say first of all that the Bible nowhere tells us that
these gifts have ceased. As a matter of fact they never ceased.
If they are not very noticeable that may be due to spiritual decline
of the church.
But it also needs to be said that these spectacular gifts are
not always the most important. In the case of Jesus and the early
church they demonstrated that the claim of God's almighty, loving
power was not just a matter of words. Miracles and healing demonstrated
that God's love and power are real. But a healing is always temporary.
People healed through a spiritual gift of healing always get sick
again or certainly they die like everyone else.
Paul himself urges the Corinthians to seek the more important
gifts, like teaching, serving, giving. As a matter of fact, Paul
strongly emphasizes that the most excellent gift is love. To love
is not always easy. But the gift to do that is a transforming gift.
Agape love is not only the gift to love the unlovable, but often
it is the love that transforms those who are not very lovable into
loving people.
What all this means is simply this: the discovery and development
and use of our gifts is of the greatest importance. Just think of
a congregation whe
re everyone is using some gift. Think of a council
which does not appoint people to do something merely because it
needs to be done and there is no one else to do it. But such a council
appoints people to do the things they are gifted to do. That will
be one happy church. Little or no burn out. Burn out happens when
people are asked to do what they are not gifted to do.
Paying attention to people’s gifts is paying attention to
the leading of the Spirit. It means to be open to His blessing and
power. A church where every member is giving according to gift and
ability is a church that will grow, both spiritually and in numbers.
So let us, if we have not done so already, discover what our gifts
are. Let us recognize in these gifts the blessing of the Spirit.
Let us encourage one another to develop these gifts. And then let
us put them to full use. Blessed is the church that welcomes gifts
from God. And then returns them in their use to Him, for His glory.
Amen.
