WHAT I LEARNED AT MEN’S RETREAT
Apparently there was something mentioned at Men’s Retreat last weekend about “What happens at Men’s Retreat stays at Men’s Retreat.” I, however, never agreed to such a covenant and am willing to share this morning.
One of the things I learned at Men’s Retreat was that Keith does not snore. He does however, not sleep silently. Other emanations from Keith serve to disturb the peace of the community in that room.
Another thing I learned is that Glen does not believe in sleeping bags. He came without one. Glen zipped up his jacket, covered his head with his hoodie and curled up fully clothed on his bunk. That is, until Keith couldn’t stand it and found him a blanket and pillow, which Glen refused to use.
I also found that Darren is a light sleeper and that he left the room at 5:00 in the morning. Apparently someone was snoring too loud for him to sleep. I can’t imagine who.
Kyle, the perfect gentleman, never complained about any of this, even when wrongly attacked with a hockey stick for supposedly snoring too loud.
All in all, I learned that you should not miss Men’s Retreat.
On the serious side of this Retreat we had some very good sessions with Pastor Pete on discovering our spiritual gifts. It just so happens that our passage today addresses the matter of spiritual gifts. This is no coincidence. I believe the Spirit brings these things together to reinforce his truth. And for the next four Sundays we will see what Paul has to say about these gifts of the Spirit.
We learned some time back that when Paul wrote the words “Now about…” that he was addressing a concern that the Corinthians had written about in their letter to him. It is sometimes wrongly thought that if the church had every spiritual gift it would be a dynamo and growing church in the community. Here was a church, the Corinthian church, that had every spiritual gift you could think of, even the ecstatic gifts like tongues and prophecy, and they were still messed up. For this reason, the Apostle Paul addresses this body and tells them the truth about gifts. Today we will look at three of these necessary lessons on gifts.
1. The Focus is ALWAYS Jesus
Just because a church has all the gifts does not mean that they understand all things spiritual. That seems an odd thing to say but Paul agrees: “Now about spiritual gifts brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant” (v. 1).
The word “gifts” is an add-on, for what Paul wants to address is all things spiritual. This is what we would call spirituality. While the Corinthians thought that they were super-spiritual, Paul pricks their pride by saying “I don’t want you to be dumb concerning spiritual things.”
The first lesson Paul gives them concerns the genuine nature of spirituality. Idols are nothing spiritual he reminds them again, and then says this: “Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (v. 3).
It is uncertain what Paul meant here. If Christians were being persecuted, it could be assumed that he means this confession to be uttered under pressure. It’s hard to know. But we do know this about the Holy Spirit:
a) The Holy Spirit always focuses attention on Jesus Christ. Whatever inspiration or confession or gift is given by the Holy Spirit, we can know it is credible if it points to Jesus. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.
b) The Holy Spirit’s main goal is to glorify Jesus Christ and to secure His Lordship in our lives. This is the Spirit’s work in our lives – to make it possible for Jesus to be Lord of our lives.
c) The confession of Jesus as Lord distinguishes believers from unbelievers. It is through a genuine confession of Jesus as your Lord that you receive your salvation and a gift or gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The focus is always Jesus when it comes to spiritual things in the Christian life.
2. All Gifts have ONE Source
One of the Corinthian problems was to give prestige to certain gifts over others and ultimately to rank members of the church based on their giftedness. We will see more of this in future sermons. For now Paul teaches a second lesson on the source of these gifts:
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men” (Vv. 4-6).
Note the use of the words “different” and “same.” Paul emphasizes the rich diversity of gifts, service and works, while pointing at one divine origin. It is the same Spirit, it is the same Jesus, and it is the same God who gives these gifts. Clearly the Trinity, God in three persons, is the one source of all gifts. Therefore there can be no ranking of gifts and there should be no ranking of persons within the church where true community and equality in Jesus is supposed to be evident.
The diversity of gifts is an expression of the beauty and generosity of God. Different kinds of gifts, charismata, is a wonderful expression. The modern Greek word means “birthday present” which conveys the idea of a love-gift. Paul wants his readers to know that is not a matter of earning God’s favor but it is out of God’s love that he gives you your gift.
Different kinds of service employs the word “deacon” and tells us that we are to be servants of one another. Our gifts are not intended for performances sake, or to use the church as an arena for our talents. We are to serve one another.
Different kinds of working are God’s energy going to work within Christians and spilling out into the life of the community. This is God’s sheer power operating in each Christian proving that the Holy Spirit is not a theory but a person who literally works in each one of us to do God’s work. Changed lives, transformed relationships, growing congregations, powerful testimonies, and discovered talents energized by the Holy Spirit and illuminating the Lordship of Jesus Christ are the reason God gives such a variety of gifts to us His Church. They all work together for one purpose and come from one source.
3. EVERYONE has a Gift
Paul now comes to his third lesson on gifts. Where some gifts are easily visible, others are not. The fact remains: everyone who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior has been given a gift of the Holy Spirit (or more).
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (v. 7).
Paul says “to each one” and repeats this in v. 11. Everyone has a gift through the work of the Holy Spirit. There is no need for envy or for the exaltation of one gift over another. That just doesn’t fit God’s community plan. Rick Warren has said in his book “Purpose Driven Life” that there are 2 main problems when thinking about spiritual gifts. One is called “gift-envy”. This means that we compare our abilities and gifts to others. In doing that, we might feel tempted to feel jealous of others or feel dissatisfied with what God has given us. The second problem is “gift-projection”. This happens when you expect other people to have your gift, do things as you do them and to feel the same way you do about that subject with the same passion. This just isn’t going to happen.
“To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given…” We are not talking about talents or abilities, like playing the piano, these are spiritual gifts. A list is given here for example’s sake but it is not an exhaustive list. Why does Paul list the message of wisdom? Why the message of knowledge? Why faith? Why healing? Why miracles or prophecy? Why discernment? And why tongues and interpretation? These particular gifts were associated with the mystic gifts of the idols they had previously worshiped. So he is making a comparison. That’s why it is not an exhaustive list. There are many gifts besides these but these were the prominent ones in Corinth. The true gifts come from the true God and have true results. To each one of us a gift is given. “To each one of us the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” Again Rick Warren said, “God gave me a gift, not for me but for you, and God gave you a gift, not for you but for me. If you don’t use your gift, you’re depriving me; if I don’t use my gift, I’m robbing you.”
Paul re-emphasizes the community aspect of our giftedness. It is for the common good; not for your personal ambition. Your gift brings richness to the whole of the community. Each one of us is needed to bring full expression to the body of believers.
This is some of what I learned at Men’s Retreat, though in truth I studied this more during the week. I did learn at the Retreat that I have some gifts I didn’t know I had. Discernment, Deliverance and Prophecy topped my list. It was a very revealing exercise and I would encourage another seminar of this type in our church so that many more of us could affirm or discover our spiritual gifts.
Above all, we must never forget that a gift is something given, not earned, and is given to glorify Jesus Christ. Whether we sing or preach or pray or perform maintenance on the Church building, all of it must be done for his honor and glory.
AMEN
