Spiritual Gifts
September 13, 2020
The typical NASCAR race car costs about $150,000 to build. They might be fun to have. They are certainly unique. If you wanted to buy one, keep in mind - - - there are no power windows or locks. In fact, it doesn’t have windows at all; it just has a net. There are no doors, you enter through the windowless window. It doesn’t have eight-way power seats; it has only ONE uncomfortable bucket seat, bolted down.
There are no headlights, no bluetooth, no CD player. It gets 5 miles per gallon. There’s no air conditioning. Trunk space is limited since the gas tank takes up most of the trunk. It doesn’t have alloy wheels, no treads on the tires, no windshield wipers
They drive Fords, Chevys and Toyotas. These cars were designed for one purpose . . . speed. You can even buy them!
You can get Jeff Gordon’s 2nd place finish at the Brickyard 400 in 2011 for only $135,000.
Of course, there are less expensive cars available too. These cars were designed and built for a special purpose — — for NASCAR racing.
And the same can be said for every one of you. God designed you, built you and equipped you for a special job within the body of Christ and that is what makes you valuable. You are not some ordinary Ford, Chevy or Toyota or whatever brand you choose.
You are a special, unique child of God. You are valuable; you have more worth and value than you can imagine; and that’s because our worth and value comes from God.
Before we jump into our text in 1 Corinthians 12, let me set the scene. Remember, last week we were looking at 1 Corinthians 11, as Paul spoke about communion.
The Corinthian church had lots of problems. The church was filled with division, arguments, lawsuits, and immorality. On top of that, there was confusion about marriage, food sacrificed to idols, worship, the Lord’s Supper, the Resurrection, giving, and spiritual gifts. Some people thought they were more important than others because they had some pretty spectacular gifts. When Paul wrote this letter to the church he addressed these issues.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul began to address the issue of spiritual gifts. In the first SLIDEverse Paul said, 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, I do not want you to be uninformed.
Paul wanted to end all of the arguing and disputing about spiritual gifts. He wanted to set the record straight. He was going to give them the facts and nothing but the facts. These new Christ-followers needed to understand these mysterious blessings. He wanted them to understand more about faith in Christ. Paul wrote ~
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the SAME SPIRIT; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the SAME LORD; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the SAME GOD who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Paul is reminding the people
there are a variety of gifts
there are a variety of services
there are a variety of activities
AND IT’S SO COOL WHAT HE DID, BECAUSE HE GIVES US THE Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit in this passage.
It is the same Spirit, the same Lord and Same God who gives and empowers these gifts in every Christ-follower. And why are they given to each believer? For the common good!
Let me give you what I believe is one of the best definitions of Spiritual Gifts. It comes from Bruce Bugbee, founder and president of Network Ministries. This ministry also has what I believe is the best Spiritual Gift inventory to help you determine your gifts. We have used this tool to help people as well. These are also available in the lobby and on the website.
Bugbee said ~ Spiritual gifts are divine abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit to every believer according to God’s design and grace for the common good of the body of Christ (“What You Do Best in the Body of Christ,” Page 52)
This is important because the gifts are divine. They are not man-made. They are given by the Holy Spirit - to whom? To every believer according to God’s plan and purpose. WHY? For the common good of the body of Christ.
Your spiritual gifts are given to you by the Holy Spirit and they are given to every believer in Jesus. Nobody who has faith in Jesus can ever say they are not gifted, because you are. These gifts aren’t given to you for you to become popular or stand out in any way, they are given to you for the common good of the body of believers, the church. We’ll look at that in a bit.
Understand there is a difference between natural abilities and divine abilities or spiritual gifts. Some people have natural abilities. It could be an artist, writer, actor, musician or athlete for example. They may not know Jesus, but they have a great talent. But they are not doing it for the body of believers. They may be the greatest singer you’ve ever heard. It is their talent, not a spiritual gift.
Juxtapose that with someone who is a follower of Christ, and they are an excellent singer. They take their time and sing in church, during worship or at other times. They have the same talent as the non believer, but the difference is the fact they have the gift of servanthood.
Think about those who are upstairs in the balcony, making images pop up on the TVs, allowing you to hear my voice, making sure the recording is good. They have talents, but they also have the gift of servanthood.
I can go on about the gifts people have. The gifts of mercy and compassion, the gifts of teaching and more. We have many of them in our church.
These folks are using their talent and gifts for the common good.
The question is “Who is receiving the glory from what we do? Us or Christ? It’s important to recognize that a spiritual gift is given to us by the Holy Spirit when we first accept Christ into our lives.
Paul tells us there are a variety of spiritual gifts — about 20 overall. All of the gifts come from the Holy Spirit. We can do all kinds of different things for God - - - some of you can teach, some have the gift of hospitality, others will be compassion, or prophecy, or wisdom, or maybe administration, or giving; maybe healing or others. They are all given by the same God, through Jesus, and they are all to be used for the same purpose, to serve God and bring glory to God.
One thing we need to understand about spiritual gifts is that when you state you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit. It’s a supernatural process that occurs. We can’t explain it in human terms, other than to say we take it by faith that God plants the Holy Spirit within us at the moment we proclaim Jesus is the Messiah.
Each person who says YES to Jesus receives these divine gifts. They are never for our own glory. So, once we’ve got them, what do we do with these gifts? The purpose of Spiritual Gifts can be found in a number of scripture passages ~
12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the BODY OF CHRIST MAY BE BUILT UP... - Ephesians 4:11-12
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to SERVE OTHERS, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. - 1 Peter 4:10
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the COMMON GOOD. - 1 Corinthians 2:7
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong — 12 that is, that you and I may be MUTUALLY ENCOURAGED by each other's faith. - Romans 1:11-12
When we look at these 4 scriptures, we learn that Spiritual Gifts are given to us so-
the body of Christ may be built up
to serve others, for the common good
and to mutually encourage one another.
They are always other - centered. They are never about ourselves, they are always used for others and God.
When we use our gifts they help us become more effective in life in what God has called us to do. When you learn what your spiritual gifts are, you’re supposed to use them. When you receive a gift from someone, you open it and use it, don’t you? In the same way, when we receive God’s gifts, we are to use them, not to put them on a shelf.
We need to learn and understand our God given SHAPE.
Our SHAPE is not how big or small we are, instead our SHAPE is how we put our life together by using everything God has planted within us.
The word SHAPE comes from Rick Warren, the pastor at Saddleback Church in California and it means ---
S = SPIRITUAL GIFTS
H = HEART - - - - PASSIONS
A = ABILITIES - - - - TALENTS
P = PERSONALITY - - - - Introvert/extrovert - order / chaos
E = EXPERIENCE - - - - life’s experience
We’re going to talk more about our SHAPE next week!! By the end of next week, you’ll know what SHAPE you are and that really begins to shape how you can serve God and be fulfilled at the same time.
One of the things I believe we all long for in life is to have a sense of fulfillment. We want to know that we’ve made a difference in our lifetimes. That’s one of the beauties of spiritual gifts. When you know what your gifts are, you can use them according to your passions, your talents, according to your personality and with your life experience in mind.
All of that should be taken into account. It may sound like an overwhelming task to try to get all of this figured out. But it’s really not, and even if it takes a little time, it’s totally worth it.
Let me give you a personal example . . .
One of my spiritual gifts is teaching. I’m energized when I teach. But don’t ask me to teach the K-1st grade class. I wouldn’t last. They’re good kids and I could sit and play with them and have a great time, but they wouldn’t learn anything. I’m not gifted to teach younger kids. My SHAPE is NOT designed that way. I can hang out with them and play and love them, but I can’t teach them.
That’s why we are part of a body, because what I can’t do, others can do. That’s how the body of Christ is called to work. Every part cannot do the same thing. The knee cannot do what the hand can do. The mouth cannot hear. The ear cannot taste. You get the point. And that’s what Paul was talking about to the church in Corinth.
The church is made up of many members, each one having their own purpose, which, ultimately, is to fulfill the larger purpose of helping the church to be the hope of the world by loving and serving one another for the common good.
The goal is for every believer to be involved in something which is using their spiritual gifts. I’m not talking about what you do for a living, I’m talking about how you are serving Christ.
Some spiritual gifts may sound foreign to you, but once you understand them, they begin to make sense. The goal is not to go through everyone of these, but to let you know there are many gifts and if you’re a believer in Jesus, do you know your gifts?
You see, if you’re not using your gifts, then you are not fulfilling your God given purpose in this world. This means you are not as complete as you could be, because God’s design for you in your life is not being realized. And that will always leave you unfulfilled. Secondly, the church is not as powerful as we can be because you are not doing what you should be doing.
I really believe the church is the only hope in a fallen world.
So, have you unwrapped your gifts from God? If you don’t know your gift, I would be thrilled to talk to you about how to determine your gifts and then to put it all together and use your gifts according to your SHAPE.
You see, this all flows from what we’ve been talking about . . . what is my purpose in life? How can I have a single minded focus on Christ, totally surrendering to Christ, being part of a biblical community . . . and when you are doing this you want to be part of the fun, part of the ministry . . . so you want to use your spiritual gifts.
We don’t leave gifts unopened. We open them, we use them, we celebrate them. That’s the call for you and I. Use our gifts for the glory of God and the good of one another. Just like those great NASCARS, God uniquely created us so we would glorify Him through serving because of the faith we have in Jesus Christ.
My hope, my prayer and goal for this church is that every believer is involved in something beside worship in a significant way. Every person feels fully alive because they are serving Jesus.
