Just a few years ago, Dave Barry, a columnist for the Washington Post, posted his comments about the typical male in the first week of December. He wrote, “Your standard man, at this point in the Christmas season, has purchased zero gifts. He has not yet gotten around to purchasing an acceptable gift for his wife for last Christmas. He did give her something last year, but he could tell by her reaction to it that she had not been dreaming of getting an auto emergency kit, even though it was the deluxe model with booster cables and an air compressor. Clearly this gift violated an important rule, but the man had no idea what this rule was, and his wife was too upset to tell him.” (Dave Barry, “Your Gift Is in the Male,” Washington Post, December 7, 2004)
Sometimes, at Christmas, we get gifts we don’t really appreciate. But there is Someone who knows exactly what we need, and He delights in giving us good gifts. That One, of course, is the Lord. He is one God who exists in three separate and distinct persons, and each person in this Holy Trinity has a gift for us this Christmas. They are gifts we can really appreciate if we choose to accept them. And in these three Sunday’s before Christmas, I want us to explore each of their gifts.
If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Romans 12, Romans 12, where we have, 1st of all, the Holy Spirit’s gift.
Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if 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. (NIV)
These, of course, are the spiritual gifts, which 1 Corinthians 12:11 says, “The Holy Spirit gives to each one, just as he determines.” Spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities that the Holy Spirit gives to each and every believer so they can serve His church. None of us, who have trusted Christ, are without such a gift. All of us have received this supernatural ability to serve. Every single believer, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, can serve in some way to effectively advance the cause of Christ in this world through His church.
That’s the gift the Holy Spirit gives to every believer, but so few of us really appreciate or utilize this gift to its fullest. You say, “Phil, I want to be used of God to effectively advance the cause of Christ, but I don’t know how. How can I utilize the supernatural ability the Holy Spirit has given me to serve Him effectively? How can I use His wonderful gift to see people come to faith in Christ, and to help His church grow?
Well, let’s back up a few verses in the text and see what the context tells us. You’re in Romans 12. Look at verse 3.
Romans 12:3 For 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. (NIV)
There are some people who think they are God’s gift to the church. They overestimate their own importance and skills, but if we’re going to utilize the Holy Spirit’s gift effectively, God warns us…
DON’T OVERESTIMATE YOURSELF.
Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought.
Six years ago (2004), the Chicago Tribune carried an article about some German violinists who were suing for a pay raise. Pointing to their less-busy colleagues who play flute, oboe, or trombone, the violinists claimed that they play a whole lot more notes per concert than anybody else in the orchestra.
Laurentius Bonitz, the director of the Beethoven Orchestra in Bonn had a very different opinion. He argued that the violinists should not be paid more: “Maybe it’s an interesting legal question,” he said, “but musically, it’s very clear to everyone.”
That is, it’s very clear that all parts are needed to make beautiful music, and no one part is more important simply because they play more notes. (“Violinists Say Pay Far from Noteworthy,” Chicago Tribune, 3-24-04; www.PreachingToday.com)
Well, the church is like the orchestra. There is no room for prima donnas or for people who keep track of notes. That’s not the way to use our gifts effectively. We must be careful not to overestimate ourselves, thinking we’re more important because of what we do. Otherwise, the forward progress of the church comes to a grinding halt.
A sea captain and his chief engineer were arguing over who was most important to the ship. To prove their point to each other, they decided to swap places. The chief engineer went up to the bridge, and the captain went down to the engine room.
Several hours later, the captain suddenly appeared on deck covered with oil and dirt. “Chief!” he yelled, waving a monkey wrench in the air. “You have to get down here; I can’t make her go!”
“Of course you can’t,” replied the chief. She’s aground!” (Leadership, Vol.12, No.4)
You see, on a team, none of us excel each other. Rather, we depend on each other, and that’s especially true in the church. The preacher is not more important than the person in the pew. The one who wags his tongue is not more important than the one who uses his hands. The one who leads is not more important than the one who serves.
On the contrary, We need each other to advance the cause of Christ in the world. Each part of the body must do its work if the whole body is going to grow. Every believer in the body of Christ is important to the work God has called us to do. So let’s all be careful: Don’t overestimate yourself. But on the other hand, if you want to effectively utilize your gifts…
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE YOURSELF, either.
Don’t negate or minimize your importance to the church. While it’s true that none of us are indispensable, it’s also true that none of us are unnecessary. As I said, every one of us is important to the work. That’s why the Holy Spirit has given each of us a supernatural ability to serve.
Romans 12:4-5 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members 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. (NIV)
Every part of the body HAS a function, and every part of the body NEEDS to function if the body is to remain healthy. So it is in the church. YOU ARE IMPORTANT to the functioning of a healthy church, and if you don’t participate, then the whole church suffers.
Just a couple of years ago (2008), Orthodox Church officials in Russia discovered that one of their church buildings had disappeared. Poof—gone! The 200-year-old building northeast of Moscow had not been used for a decade. Then the Orthodox Church started growing. So they decided to reopen the old church building, and that’s when they discovered it wasn’t there.
After an investigation, they determined that villagers from a nearby town had taken the bricks from the building and sold them to a businessman for one ruble (about 4 cents) each. The building didn’t come down in one fell swoop. No. Instead, lots of people, over a period of years, had chiseled out the bricks one-by-one until there was no church building left. (“Russian Orthodox church stolen brick by brick,” Associated Press, 11-13-08; www.PreachingToday.com)
Well, that’s what’s happening to many of our churches here. They are not being reduced in one fatal stroke. Rather, many believers, who are the “living stones” of a church, one-by-one, are choosing not to get involved, and each decision means one less living stone. Eventually, the church is chiseled away, and its witness is completely gone from the community.
Please, don’t you do the same. Don’t underestimate yourself and choose not to get involved. You ARE important to the life and ministry of this church. So please, get involved. Choose to participate. Choose to use your God-given gifts to further the cause of Christ through His church.
Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if 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. (NIV)
Whatever your gift, whatever your ability, whatever your talent, use it to the full to serve God with all your heart. You may not be able to preach, but you can serve. You may not be able to teach, but you can encourage. You may not be able to lead, but you can show mercy. Don’t worry about what you can’t do. Do what you can, and God will use it to further the cause of Christ through His church.
A 38-year-old scrubwoman used to go to the movies and sigh, “If only I had her looks.” She used to listen to a singer and moan, “If only I had her voice.” Then one day, she stopped comparing herself to actresses and singers. She stopped crying about what she didn’t have and started concentrating on what she did have. She took inventory of herself and remembered that in high school she had a reputation for being the funniest girl around. Then she began to turn her liabilities into assets and eventually earned over $1 million a year. Her name is Phyllis Diller, perhaps one of the greatest female comedians of all time. She wasn’t good looking and she had a scratchy voice, but she could make people laugh. (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, p.282)
How about you? Stop comparing yourself with other believers. Stop crying about what you don’t have. Instead, find out what God has given you, and use it for His glory. Get involved in the ministry of the church, and God will use you in supernatural ways to change people’s lives forever. That’s the Holy Spirit’s gift to you this Christmas. It’s the opportunity and the ability to be used of God to make a real difference in people’s lives that will count for eternity.
In his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller describes a New Year’s Day parade in San Diego, which is no ordinary parade. It is a parade where nobody is allowed to watch, because everybody is in the parade.
It started when Bob and Maria Goff and their children were sitting around on a New Year’s Day, and one of the kids mentioned that she was bored. They were all bored, so Bob asked his kids what they could do to make New Year’s Day less boring.
The kids started tossing out ideas like “buy a pony” or “build a rocket ship.” Then one of the children suggested having a parade. Bob liked that idea, perhaps because it got him out of buying a pony. So he, his wife, and the kids sat around the dining room table and dreamed up what their parade might look like.
They could wear costumes and hold balloons, and maybe they could invite their friends to watch. The kids started talking about what kind of costumes they could make – the more elaborate, the better. Maria began planning a cookout in their backyard at the end of the parade, and wondered how many people she should prepare for. And the kids started talking about the friends and neighbors they could call to invite and watch the parade.
Bob thought about it, though, and realized it’s more fun to be in a parade than to watch one. So he made a rule: nobody would be allowed to watch the parade, but anybody could participate. He and the kids then walked down their small street, knocked on doors, and explained to their neighbors that they were having a parade. They invited everybody to be in the parade and made it clear that nobody would be allowed to watch. In other words, when the parade comes by, they invited their neighbors to look away or join. Surprisingly, a lot of their neighbors agreed to participate. They would march down the street with Bob’s kids and join the cookout in the Goffs’ backyard…
So Bob and his family dressed up in their handmade costumes, walked to the end of the street, where they were joined by a few neighbors, and they all began marching down the street. As they marched, they converted all the parade watchers into parade participants. And by the time they got to their backyard, they had a dozen or more people sitting around, enjoying each other’s company and eating hamburgers. (Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Thomas Nelson, 2009, pp. 234-237; www.PreachingToday.com)
When I read that story, I thought, “What a beautiful picture of a functioning, healthy church: no one sitting on the sidelines; everyone participating; and all enjoying each other’s company.”
It’s possible, but only if you choose to get involved. Please, don’t sit on the sidelines criticizing the show. Instead, jump right in and enjoy being a part of something big God is doing through His church right here on Washington Island.
Do you want to be used of God to effectively advance the cause of Christ? Do you want to utilize the supernatural ability the Holy Spirit has given you to serve Him effectively? Then don’t overestimate yourself and don’t underestimate yourself either.
While none of us are indispensable, all of us are important to the functioning of a healthy church. Please, get a grip and get involved. Enjoy the Holy Spirit’s gift to you this Christmas, and use it to the full to serve with all your heart.
Dr. F. B. Meyer put it well when he said, “It is urgently needful that…Christian people come to understand that they are not a company of invalids, to be wheeled about, or fed by hand, nursed, and comforted, the minister being the Head Physician and Nurse; but [they are] a garrison in an enemy’s country, every soldier of which should have some post or duty, at which he should be prepared to make any sacrifice rather than quitting.” (Ron Rhodes, The Heart of Christianity, Harvest House, p.169)
My friends, because of the Holy Spirit’s gift to all of us, we are not invalids in a hospital; we are specialists in God’s army with the ability, the supernatural ability, to storm the gates of hell and prevail. Now, let’s get up from here and do it!
Rise up, O Church of God!
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings. (William P. Merrill, altered)
