Remedy
The Remedy for Emptiness
Scripture: Rom. 12:3-13
Main Idea: We can never lead fulfilling lives if we keep to ourselves and serve only our interests. God provides the remedy for emptiness when we live to serve our purpose in His body, the Church.
Icebreaker: Today being Mother’s Day, I thought I’d read
Intro: Remember last week how Paul wrote to “present your body as a living sacrifice…” This week and next, he tells us how.
Scripture: Romans 12:3-13
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 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. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[a]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. 9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
-During experiments aboard the space shuttle “Columbia,” scientists discovered that there could be twenty-six lakes underneath the Sahara desert. It’s heartrending to think of the people who are starving and dying of thirst because these hidden resources have not yet been tapped.
-In a similar way, there are a number of spiritual resources that lie untapped in our church and in our individual lives because we’ve simply not gone deep enough. My fear is that we’re missing out on what the Christian life is all about. Some of us are settling for something far less than what God intended, and we are empty inside as a result.
3 Types of Christians
Did you know that there are 3 types of Christians in every church?
1. Seekers – These are people who genuinely seeking God, but never make a commitment.
2. Soakers – These are people who love God, but think the Church exists to serve them. They want to soak in great worship and great preaching and great programs but never want to do anything to help make those things happen. So they soak in and soak in and soak in but never let anything out.
3. Servers – Finally, the servers are those people who are genuinely seeking God, and really do love God, but are actively giving forward to see God’s Kingdom expand through their church.
Finding Your Purpose in Christ’s Body
1. Always begin with a spirit of humility – vs. 3
Illustration: There was a man who was driving down the expressway in rush hour traffic when he received a call from his wife on his cell phone, “Honey, you need to be careful driving home because I just heard on the news that there’s a dork driving in the wrong direction on the same road you’re on.” To which the husband responded, “It’s not just one; there are hundreds of them!”
Questions: -Have you ever been around an individual who always thinks they’re right? How does it feel to be around someone who boasts and brags about his or her abilities? It’s not a good feeling, is it?
Statement: And you know what? When it comes to finding our purpose, we should always begin with a spirit of humility.
-Never forget this truth: God uses us simply because He wants to. We’re to avoid thinking too highly of ourselves and we’re to avoid thinking too low of ourselves. We do that by focusing on God’s grace. Everything we are and everything we have is by grace. Let’s get rid of our superior attitudes.
-Thinking more highly of ourselves than we should is one of the greatest problems in serving God. The Roman church may have struggled with the problem of self-importance because they were located at the heart of the Roman Empire.
Scripture: Rom. 12:3
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
-Humility is a great place to start when we talk about finding our purpose. In fact, it’s the only place. You see, if we don’t maintain a humble attitude when we’re serving in Christ’s body, we will fail miserably. If I fail to be humble, it slowly starts becoming about me.
-Would it be okay to just be real for a second, this morning? Many Christians, even those who have been faithful for decades, would do well to return to this verse on humility time and time again.
2. Find the function God has made you for. – 4
Illustration: William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was interviewed near the close of his life. This is what he said: "God had all there was of me. There have been others who had greater plans, greater opportunities than I; but from the day I got a vision of what God could do, I made up my mind God would have all there was of William Booth."
Questions: Does God have all of you?
Statement: You see, William Booth understood something. He understood that there were others with more natural talent and ability then Him. But He also understood that God is a big God. That God has a plan and a purpose for every one of us. And so he committed his life to doing everything that he could to let God use him for the function God had created him for. That’s still the case, today. If you want to find your purpose, you’ve got to find the function God has made you for.
-Listen to what Paul says in verse 4:
Scripture: Rom. 12:4
4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
-We’ve got to remember that just as the different parts of our bodies have different functions, so too, in the body of Christ, each of us have been given different gifts and roles. We can’t do it alone. If God’s purposes are to be accomplished and His church is to grow, everyone of us is important. Nobody is a nobody in the Body of Christ. -While no one can do everything, everyone can do something.
-There are so many ways that we are different from each other. That’s how God designed us. A fully devoted follower of Christ understands that they are called to be not only a follower of Jesus, but a minister of Jesus. We are all called to some form on ministry in Christ’s body.
-What is a “minister”? A minister is a servant. And we are all called to serve God in some way because of what He has done for us.
-So, what ways are you serving Jesus? You see, ministry is using whatever God has given me to serve Him and the needs of others.
3. Practice belonging to other believers – 5
Statement: Speaking of others, it’s also important to remember that we belong to other believers. In fact, this is another way we find our purpose in Christ’s body. We practice belonging to other believers. Listen to what Paul says in the very next verse:
Scripture: Rom. 12:5
“5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
-While we’re uniquely designed, we’ve been made to function in community with one another. Each of us belongs to one another. I might be strong in the area of my gift, but I am weak in the areas where others have been gifted. Thus, I must minister to others out of my strength, and be dependent upon the ministry of the rest of the body in my areas of weakness.
-In order to understand our shape for ministry, we must stop thinking individualistically and begin to think corporately. We cannot look at ourselves as an island, independent of all others. We must see ourselves as fully functioning members of the body of Christ, with certain gifts that are necessary to the equipping and ministry of the entire church. There is individuality within the body, because there are many members, all with a different role to play. But there is no room for individualism, for we are inter-dependent. We must rely on other members of the body just as they must rely on us.
-Experts tell us that 85% of the success of people in the workplace is directly related to their interpersonal relationships. Bad attitudes hinder good relationships. Some of the most gifted people in the world struggle to get along with others. Let’s determine to follow the example of Christ by serving people and by considering others better than we are.
-Did you know that you belong to the person sitting next to you? We’re on the same team with each of us playing different roles. Don’t get puffed up by your own importance and don’t take yourself out of the game by thinking you don’t matter. We need each other because we belong to each other.
4. Don’t forget that you are gifted by God’s grace, alone. – 6
Listen to verse 6:
Scripture: Rom. 12:6
6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
Statement: It’s like Paul is saying, “Oh, and by the way, don’t forget that you are gifted by God’s grace, alone.”
-Paul makes 2 incredibly important points in the next 4 verses.
-The first point is this: God has given gifts to us, according to the specific gift of grace that is given to us. This goes along with having a spirit of humility. Why should we be humble? Because our gifts are given to us only by God’s grace.
5. Do your part – 6-8
Statement: The 2nd point Paul makes is this: Our gifts must be used.
Scripture: Rom. 12:6-8
“If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[a]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”
-Paul teaches that “God has given each of us an ability to do certain things well” (6). The ability that God gives us to do certain things well is called a spiritual gift.
-A spiritual gift is a “distinctive ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every Christian, according to God’s grace and design, for the purpose of building up the body of Christ” (Dan Reiland). Look at what Paul says: Each of us has a God given ability. God has entrusted you with a special ability, a spiritual gift, so that you can help make this church and the entire body of Christ more effective in our ministry. The church is here for a distinctive purpose: we are here to make disciples of all people, and God has given you a spiritual gift that will help the church to do just that.
-I cannot stress enough the importance of you using your spiritual gift so that you can help make the church as strong and healthy and productive as possible. Pastor John Macarthur says that “no congregation will be what it could be, what Jesus prayed that it should be, what the Holy Spirit gifted it and empowered it to be, until it understands [and employs] spiritual gifts.”
-If you don’t use your gift now, then when? If you don’t use your gift here, then where? If you don’t allow God to use you, then who?
-We’ll wrap up today with these 10 habits that will help you as you serve:
10 Habits that will help you as you serve (vs. 9-13)
Scripture: Rom. 12:9-13
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
-Paul lays it out pretty clearly here, in these verses, doesn’t he? He’s saying, “Do these things. Live this way. They will help fill that emptiness inside of you.”
-Here are the 10, in a nutshell:
1. Love sincerely.
2. Hate evil.
3. Do good.
4. Be devoted to each other.
5. Honor each other.
6. Get excited about serving God.
7. Be patient with difficulties.
8. Pray all the time.
9. Help those in need.
10. Be hospitable.
Conclusion/Invitation
-If our church is not a church that focuses on using our gifts and being ministers, then we can never be who God has called us to be. And you can never be who God has called you to be.
-If as a collective body of believers, we are not each focused on serving in some area of ministry, the whole body will be hurt.
-If I have areas of ability that I will not use for the body of Christ here at Millville, then I am hurting the body of Christ at Millville. For this body to function, we need each and every part of it to be functioning.
-God did not call us to sit on the bench, but He called us to find a position on the field and play the game. What happens on a team when part of the team decides not to do its job? They lose.
-It is my prayer that each and every member of the Millville Avenue is an active part of the body, that each one of us is serving the body of Christ in some way.
-Too many times we sit back and want to be served and then we complain about the service. Too many times we feel sorry for ourselves. The best way to get out of that is to give forward by serving in ministry. Remember that we are to be like Jesus, Jesus came to serve, He came to seek and save those who are lost.
-Are you? Let’s stand together, today. How has God gifted you? Where could He use you in His body? I’m not going to ask you to come to an altar, today, but I will ask you to write on the back of your communication card where you believe God could use you best. You can just write it in under “My Next Step Today,” on the space left there for, “other.” Take the next step today. As a church, let’s take our next step together. Let’s do this. And let’s see what God can do through us. As the praise team sings, think about the area God would have you to serve in, and then write it down and turn it into to an usher as you leave.
