MAY "WE THE CHURCH" D0 GOD'S WILL AS EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
On our way home from one of five weeknight revival services, one of our kids blurted out, "Whose idea was this business of going to church every night!" Guess who raised his hand.
Precious are most of our memories of past church experiences. Let me encourage you to review all of your life's experiences - if, for no other reason, as a therapeutic reminder of how good God has been and how blessed you were to be part of the greatest enterprise ever.
Share recollections of "going to church" ... remembrances of your special events ... reflections on your involvement in the worship and work of the Lord's Church. To do so has a positive effect on how you feel, and how you fare as you move toward the finish - in the spirit of the old apostle: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”.
Paul was able to say emphatically, without doubt: "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who look forward to His appearing." (2 Tim. 4:8)
Paul was confident of the outcome of his faithful endeavors for the Cause of Christ because he had listened to the voice of God ... he had been led by the Spirit of God to live for Christ and become a powerful Christian witness.
The Lord got Saul's attention by interrupting his evil activities - demanding to know why he was trying to stop a Cause He initiated for the good of all people. In harmony with the Lord speaking to Paul, Jesus appeared to him in person - while the Holy Spirit persuaded him to be aware that he was on the wrong track.
The chief persecutor- stopped in his tracks by God the Father, confronted by God the Son, while his conscience was being pricked by God the Holy Spirit- did an about face and became not only staunch defender but chief propagator of the Cause of Christ.
By the Spirit, Saul was convinced to repent of his evil intent --- to turn away from his hell bent determination to destroy the Christian Cause --- to turn his eyes upon Jesus --- to face the question, ""What will you do with Jesus" - and to give the answer that had become the watchword of the early church: “Jesus is Lord."
So eager was Paul for the Church to accept their Spirit-endowed capabilities as empowered by the Holy Spirit for doing God's Will (sanctifying the Body of Christ . . . and spreading the Gospel unto the uttermost parts of the earth) that he expounded on the subject of spirituality at length in his first letter to the Corinthians - chapters 12, 13, 14 - although today's lesson focuses on just the first eleven verses - I Corinthians 12:1-11 . . .
Paul challenged mature believers to take a spiritual inventory of what God was up to in their Fellowship of excitement - right there in a diverse city that had become a melting pot of cultures, religions and customs. See God at work where you are! Then, as Henry Blackaby challenged us, “Join God in what He is doing.”
Great and mighty things were happening in the name of Jesus for the glory of God! Paul challenged them to look around and see what God was doing in and through the Church at Corinth - how God was using them to reach out to pagans - how the Holy Spirit was working in and through them so that people of every nation would at least have a chance to know Christ whom to know is life eternal.
Paul urged all Christians to understand - not be ignorant of one crucial fact {crucial for those who really do want to make a difference in the lives of others- particularly converts from pagan societies who grew up in unholy environments where Jesus was cursed and considered to be anathema):
Christians who have become spiritual-minded, committed to the Cause of Christ, give evidence - in word and in deed - of t heir confession: “Jesus is Lord”.
These mature Christians are the ones - assembly, congregation, fellowship of believers - through whom God the Holy Spirit works to bring to fruition God's goal for believers of being His and doing His Will. No doubt about it: They belong to Jesus!
In and through the lives of mature believers, the Holy Spirit works in varied ways to grow and develop the Body of Christ, to bring to pass that ideal for which Christians are taught by Jesus to pray: 'Thy kingdom come,. thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
As you know from your experiences in local churches, different members from different walks of life are assigned different roles and responsibilities , then equipped for involvement in different tasks, ministries and activities - all of which are important, but none to be taken lightly. Paul made it clear, though, that: Whatever your gift ... if it does not honor Jesus as Lord, it is not of the Holy Spirit!
The pertinent point made to Corinthian Christians and to all who serve in some way in the Body of Christ is this: The Triune God, whose love was so great that He predetermined a plan of salvation that would require Jesus to die on the Cross, is at work in and through the Church to bring people to a saving knowledge and acceptance of His Son as Savior and Lord, and, to sanctify the saved.
Whatever your gift . . . If it does not honor Jesus as Lord, it is not of the Holy Spirit. If it does not benefit the Body of Christ, it is not of the Holy Spirit!
God words in and through each and every member of the Body of Christ for the benefit of the Church, the Community, the Cause of Christ worldwide.
As a believer in and disciple of Christ Jesus, the gift that you have been endowed with is a manifestation of the Spirit to be used for the common good.
Whatever your function in the Body may be, it is supposed to be performed - practiced, utilized, engaged in - as a part of and for the good of the whole.
Do you see here that the old apostle - who's been there, done that, seen it all - is trying desperately to bring everybody in the Church together - to act in unity. But! Unity does not mean uniformity!
All that we do - whether together as a congregation or singlehandedly as a unique individual created in the image of God yet endowed with one's own manifestation of the Holy Spirit that is quite different from another's - is to be done in the name of Jesus for the salvation of the lost, for the sanctification of the saved, for the glory of God!
There may be some merit in compiling a list of "gifts" or manifestations of God's Spirit - perhaps using some type of inventory by which to confirm one' s intuition or self-analysis regarding the "gift'' by which the Spirit manifests himself in your life and mine --¬ but be advised that there is no exhaustive list to cover them all.
Paul's lists varied because they were brought to his mind at the time or had been called to his attention for the purpose of clarification.
The author of our study guide (Richard Blackaby) suggests putting gifts into four broad categories in case we find it helpful to categorize how we see our functioning within the Body of Christ- PSG pages 126-127 ... Would your role as a member of our Lord's Church, your function as one part of the Body of Christ, be classified as ...
(1) Supportive . . . (2) Sharing . . . (3) Speaking ... (4) Supplemental ...
Sounds to me like the motto of a healthy functioning Church of Jesus Christ ought to be: All for One and One for All! A final note:
Although there have been moments of spiritual exhilaration and ecstasy in my Christian life as an active member of Christ's Church, outward experiences of glossolalia (unintelligible utterances) are not among my recollections.
May our spiritual speaking - whatever form it takes - promote an attitude of humility- in keeping with our Lord's humility as expressed by Paul to the Philippian Church (2:5-11} ". . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Please join me in lifting our voices to declare clearly, distinctly and in unison The Confession of The Christian Church: ,.'Jesus Is Lord!"
With God as our Father, Christ as our Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit as our Companion, believers in Christ certainly have in common the greatest gift of all: Love - 1 Corinthians 13 . . . Amen!
