First Baptist Church
Romans 12:3-8
Lego My Lego: 4 Secrets of Significance
April 22, 2001
Besides playing with tractors, combines and his construction set, one of Joshua’s favorite things to play with are Lego’s. He likes to build towers, bridges and tunnels for his trucks to go under. The only problem is a dare-devil named Zachary who finds great joy in destroying his big brother’s towers. When Joshua is building a tower, there is no stopping him. If I put a piece in the wrong spot, he quickly corrects me and I place it where he says it should go.
We are beginning to experiment with making animals; like a giraffe and elephant. I have seen pictures on television of entire cities built with Lego’s. You should go to the Lego web-site and really see what you can do with these little pieces. Of course, you may look at the one piece that you received this morning, and wonder, ‘So this is my unique gift that you promised?’ What am I going to do with it, and how does it symbolize me?’ Those are good questions, and you know I have an answer.
Have you ever found one piece of an entire set lying on the floor? They seem pretty insignificant, don’t they? If it makes it back into its container, great, if not, so what. One piece missing out of 120, that’s not much, it’s 8/10 of 1%. You would hardly miss it.
In fact, if Lego pieces could think, they would feel rather insignificant. Significance is defined as ‘the quality of being important or being regarded as having great meaning.’ A piece of Lego, significant? Give me a break! I'm sure most pieces of Lego, would feel very insignificant.
And I believe we’re pretty similar to Lego pieces. Left to ourselves, we can feel pretty insignificant, but when we find ourselves in a community, whether it is family or church community, we can feel more significant. So, along with the Lego’s, we need to learn 4 secrets of significance. Knowing these four secrets can transform the way we think about ourselves.
Here's the first secret — EVERY PIECE IS A GIFT
Isn't that true? This morning, when you came in, a greeter or an usher handed you a Lego. I don't know what you did with it. You may still have it, you may have thrown it out or given it to someone else. The piece you received was a gift.
Some of you may have looked at that piece and thought it wasn't worth very much. To illustrate this concept of having received a Lego piece, think of what the Bible says about the concept of spiritual gifts. “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well” (12:6 NLT). That's the spiritual equivalent of saying ‘God has given each of us a Lego piece.’ Let's draw some parallels --
When you came in, you were given 1 Lego piece. You didn't choose the piece you got. You might not have liked the color or the shape. You might not have wanted a piece at all. You didn’t choose what you received.
You may have felt that your piece was insignificant. Answer honestly: how many people threw away their Lego or gave it to someone else? Why did you do that? (1 OF 2 REASONS - you either placed no value on the piece that you received, mostly because it looked insignificant and you didn't have to go buy it, but I did! If you don't value your piece, give it to me!
Maybe you gave away your piece to someone you care about because you did see significance in that little piece. It is just like giving part of yourself away. When we see significance in ourselves we are more willing to give away parts of ourselves so that others may grow and benefit.
Or maybe you wondered what this piece of Lego was for. I'll bet you've been wondering what that piece of Lego is for ever since you received it! The same reactions take place in the church when God passes out these supernatural abilities.
Nobody chose the piece that God gave them. I didn't and you didn't. If we believe that God knows better than we do, then we need to accept that God has given us just the piece that we needed to have, and no other piece would be better suited to us. It also means that we can't take credit for the piece or gifts God gave us. God gets the glory - not us.
But you might look at that supernatural ability God has given you and undervalued it. You might feel that you don't have a piece, or the piece God gave you is too small. You might have questioned why God gave you a piece at all. You're struggling with significance. But the first lesson that we need to learn is this: everyone has received a piece that came directly from God.
Romans 12:6 says it clearly: "God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well." Do you agree? Every piece is a gift, and every person has received a gift. Take a look at what you’ve been given, value it, it was given by God.
Not only has everyone received a piece, but there's a second secret EVERY PIECE IS PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
Isn't that the truth? One piece of Lego by itself isn't worth very much. You can't even do much with two pieces of Lego, but once you start to put pieces of Lego together, watch out! Because each piece begins to play its role in becoming part of something much bigger. Each piece plays off of the other pieces.
The best thing you could give kids of all ages are more Lego pieces. Because, once you’ve built what you can with the Lego’s you have, it’s time to move onto bigger, better and different projects. And every time you accumulate new Lego’s, they became part of something bigger. There is no such thing as a wasted piece of Lego.
Romans 12:4-5 states: “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has a different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”
Paul used the concept of the human body to communicate something important — if you look at any part of your body, it is important only inasmuch as it is connected to your body. Your hair is valuable, if you have any, and I'll bet you spend time and energy grooming it and caring for it, but the minute that hair is cut from the body, it is thrown in the garbage. A person who is a nail-biter doesn't pay any attention to a fingernail that’s been bitten off. Why? Because the nail is no longer attached to the body. All it’s good for is to be tossed into the garbage. No one gets upset about hairs and nails that have become detached from the body.
The parts of our bodies that are attached are useful, but once it is removed from the body, that part dies. Each part is a piece of something much bigger.
The only time a Lego is useful is when it's connected. The implication is this: God has given all of us a piece / a gift, and that piece only becomes useful as we use it as part of something bigger. Every piece is a gift, and every piece is part of something bigger. You’re here for a reason, you’re part of something bigger, Christ’s Kingdom
There’s a third secret that would make you and I and Lego pieces feel more significant — EVERY PIECE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY —
In preparation for today’s sermon, I visited the Lego website. I’ll bet some of you never knew there was such a thing! I was amazed by the variety of Lego pieces that exist today. There’s city Lego, Star Wars Lego, Mind Storms Lego; classic Lego’s, Mars Lego’s, and Lego’s that will cost you $100's. There is incredible diversity in the number of pieces of Lego that have been created. No one person could possibly have all the Lego that exist. There’s no such thing as a spare piece when it comes to Lego’s.
Romans 12:6-8 says: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophesying, then use it in proportion to your faith. If it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, teach; if it is encouraging, encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, then give generously; if it is leadership, then govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.”
God has given a diversity of gifts to the church. Just as there are diverse needs within the church body, God has given an abundance of different gifts to meet these needs and every believer has a share in the ministry. There are gifts I have that you might not have and I definitely know you have gifts, I don’t have. I am gifted in preaching/teaching and leadership, some of you are much more gifted in serving, encouraging, showing mercy, organization and so on.
Imagine a church in which the teachers are teaching, leaders are leading, servants are serving, the generous are cheerfully giving; imagine a church in which everyone discovered the role they had to play, and used whatever piece they were given to build something bigger.
Every piece is different, and every piece is important. Some big pieces get all the attention, but every piece is needed. There’s no such thing as a spare piece. You are needed, you have a role to play here at First Baptist Church.
One final secret to help us feel significant is the fact that -- EVERY PIECE IS DEPENDENT ON OTHER PIECES
Romans 12:5 tells us, “And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”
Tony Evans writes: "The beauty of the body of Christ is that it needs ears and noses and all sorts of parts. . . Every member of an orchestra doesn’t play the same instrument, but they all play the same song. . . each instrument in an orchestra is needed to fully express the music the conductor has chosen to play. The body of Christ operates like a good orchestra: different parts doing their work, producing beautiful music under the direction of our divine Conductor, Jesus Christ. There is unity in the music, but diversity in the instruments." We need each other, we have different roles to play, and when we fulfill our roles, amazing things happen.
What are you going to do with your piece? God can use the piece He has given you to set the stage for things far greater than you could dream of, far beyond the borders of your life.
A Sunday School teacher in Boston named Edward Kimball decided to visit all the boys who came to his class to be sure that they knew Christ as their Savior. One of these boys was busy in the back of his uncle’s shoe store stocking inventory. His father died from drinking too much whiskey when the boy was four. He was part of a family of eight, reared in poverty by his strong-willed mother, periodically attending school. As a result of a visit by that teacher at his uncle’s shoe store, the boy made a commitment to Jesus Christ. His name was D.L. Moody. He went on to become a preacher, and in a day without public address systems, he spoke to more than 100 million people, leading 1,000's of people to follow Jesus. Even Billy Graham’s conversion can be traced to a succession of converts that extends from a Sunday school teacher in Boston by the name of Edward Kimball.
Five weeks ago, I read the following quote by Rick Warren, “If we can ever awaken and unleash the massive talent, resources, creativity and energy lying dormant in the typical local church, Christianity will explode with growth at an unprecedented rate.” I believe if we unleashed our gifts, if we ever looked at the Lego piece God has given to us and believed that we could do it, First Baptist Church would explode
Your piece might seem insignificant, but it’s not. As for me, I’m going to keep my piece of Lego on my desk to remind me of the four lessons of significance.
Every piece is a gift
Every piece is part of something bigger
Every piece has a role to play, and
Every piece is dependent on other pieces
What are you going to do with your piece?
