Please open your Bibles to Romans 12:3-8 which we will read in a few minutes.
Why on earth would anyone want to join a church? You don’t need to officially join a church to be saved and joining a church doesn’t save you. So, what’s the big deal?
With that in mind let’s go ahead and read: Romans 12:3-8
The God we serve, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Trinity is the ultimate example of unity in community. The three persons of the Holy Trinity are always in agreement, always in full unity and cooperation.
The church is an extension of that unity, being identified as the body of Christ.
We live in a consumeristic culture. What’s in it for me? How will I benefit?
That same consumeristic culture has crept into the church and has become such a trend that people are constantly moving from one church to another looking to be “fed” or to have their “needs met.”
The question of “where would you have me Lord?” has been replaced with “what’s in it for me?”
Just look at the list of gifts of the Spirit in the Scripture we just read.
Prophecy (preaching)
Serving
Teaching
Encouragement
Generosity
Leadership
Mercy
You see, many Christians have an upside-down view of what they call “church”. They go to church to hear good preaching or to be served or to hear an excellent teacher or to be encouraged or to get something or to follow a great leader or to be shown mercy.
Acts 20:35
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Now, that’s a popular verse that we preachers like to use at offering time, and, even at offering time it is true.
But look at the entirety of this verse. Was the apostle Paul talking about taking an offering here? No, he was talking about giving of himself in hard work to help the weak.
When we attend a church, whether we join or not, if we go only to receive we are cheating ourselves of the blessings of God as surely as if we were to go to our job and sit idly by and expecting a pay check. That wouldn’t last long and you’d be out on the street.
We go to church to give and not to receive. If we are actually born again Christians with any maturity at all we realize that the Lord has given us at least one spiritual gift. That spiritual gift is not for our own use and enjoyment, it has been given to us for the health of the body of Christ, the church, and, in order to honor and glorify the Lord our God!
God doesn’t give us gifts to keep to ourselves.
Recently Anita gave me a gift of Recese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Recese’s PBC’s are a gift that is intended to be kept for yourself.
On the other hand, the gifts of the Spirit are for us to receive but not for us to keep.
The gifts of the Spirit are gifts that are to be shared with the body of Christ, the church, for the benefit of the body of Christ, the church.
They are given to be used in the church for His glory and His kingdom!
Let’s look at that list of gifts again and line them up with the fruit of the Spirit
Prophecy (preaching) Love, Joy
Serving Peace, Patience
Teaching Kindness
Encouragement Goodness
Generosity Faithfulness
Leadership Gentleness
Mercy Self Control
Now, just imagine a church filled with people who have the fruit of the Spirit and who also have received the gift or gifts of the Holy Spirit and use them diligently for others and for the Kingdom of God. Can you even imagine the impact that could be had for the Lord?
That is why we go to church, to use what the Lord has given us for His honor and glory.
If a person has the gift of preaching or teaching and they refuse to use that gift in the body of Christ, the church, it is a grievous sin.
If a person has the gift of serving and only serves himself it is a sin.
The same goes with encouragement, generosity, leadership and mercy.
Intentional failure to use a gift of the Spirit is sin.
Let me repeat, if a person has a spiritual gift from God that is intended to be used for the benefit of the body of Christ, the church, and fails to use it, it is a sin and there are always spiritual repercussions from sin.
I believe that I see in the Bible and in observation of humanity the following principle; refusal to use a spiritual gift for the purpose for which it was intended will result in a withering of the fruit of the Spirit in that person.
On the other hand, a person who faithfully uses a spiritual gift for its intended purpose and for the glory of God will be blessed by God and it will result in the blossoming of the fruit of the Spirit in that person.
They are inextricably intertwined.
This is the perfect circle. This is why we gather as a church. This is why a faithful follower of Jesus will always join himself to a body of believers and here is the perfect circle …
God the giver of spiritual gifts gives a spiritual gift to a person who is open to that gift; a person who is growing in the fruit of the Spirit.
That person when he comes together with other believers in a local church group uses that gift to benefit the fellow believers.
In using that gift for the benefit of fellow believers he is obedient to the Lord and the Lord blesses him and genuine glory and worship is presented to the Lord.
Another person who receives the gift that is shared is blessed by the Lord and thereby encouraged by the Spirit to share the spiritual gift that has been bestowed on them.
In doing so he is obedient to the Lord and the Lord blesses him and genuine glory and worship is presented to the Lord.
And, on and on it goes. Needs are met because the necessary gifts have been used to glorify God.
This cannot happen if a person refuses to be part of the body of Christ, the church.
And, that is why we join ourselves to the church, the body of Christ.
So that we can be used by the Lord to benefit other believers in the church for the glory of God and for the salvation of the lost.
Closing comments and prayer.
