Purpose #4: Serve
I Corinthians 12:12-27
SHAPE
Introduction
A. Our military is often referred to as the Service
B. What are they doing? They are serving our Country
C. We have the largest military in the world
D. Because of our size we have to have different people doing different things
E. If all the military were generals, we would have no one to carry out the orders
F. If all the military were infantry, we would have no one to perform surgery on the injured, as a result more would die
G. If all our military were Navy, how would we attack on land?
H. WE have different people doing different jobs in order to have a fully functioning military
I. In our church, we have to have different people serving in different ways
J. If we didn¡¦t mass ciaos would arrive
K. Look at our scripture passage.
L. When we study this section of scripture we can see 5 primary insights concerning the body of Christ, or to say another way the Church
M. Those five are
a. We are all part of the same body, there is no other body
b. Choosing to divorce yourself from the body does not mean you are no longer a part of the body it simply means you are a no longer a functioning part
c. Diversity within the body is no negative, it is essential
d. No part of the body is unnecessary. All are essential
e. In the body it is one for all and all for one. We rejoice with those who rejoice and morn with those who morn
N. Ok those are nice insight but what does that have to do with our church
O. Each on of us who are a part of the church has a spiritual SHAPE
a. Everyone has a Spiritual gift
b. Everyone has a Heart
c. Everyone has Abilities
d. Everyone has a Personality
e. Everyone has a history of Experiences
P. These areas will determine how we serve.
Q. We are going to look at each one closer today:
I. Spiritual Gifts
A. Explanation
1. This tends to lead to sticky area and a touchy subject
2. The problem comes when we try and define spiritual gifts
3. Well lets start off eliminating some things right now
4. First of all we in Gal 5:22-23, we have what is referred to as the fruit of the spirit, these are not spiritual gifts
5. This fruit should be evident in all believers
6. Spiritual gifts we are born with, though they can be further developed they are there from the beginning
7. Not everyone will have the same gift and no one will have all the gifts
8. The question then becomes how many spiritual gifts are there and how many can a single person display?
9. How many. I don¡¦t know! That is the honest answer. I have seen list of 7 and list of 28 and many in-between.
10. As far as how many each believer has, again I do not know. I have heard that people can only have one; I have heard people can have many. One thing I do know is anyone person will not have all the gifts. It is impossible
B. Application
1. So what does that means for our Church?
2. We should work at finding our spiritual gifts
3. I have three or four different spiritual gifts test up in my office
4. Those are great tools to use
5. However, these tools are not and end to all end
6. You might take a test but that does not mean you should not try something because of what the test said
7. It will help
8. But ultimately you will find your gift out by serving
C. Illustration
1. When I first took a spiritual gift test one of them that came out high was prophecy, I¡¦m thinking, wow I am going to predict the future? That was weird to me. I read the description and it basically said delivering a message from the Bible in a relevant format. That is what I try to do preaching. AT the time I took it, I had not had much experience in the area of preaching; I did not think that I would like it. Guess what? I like it, it motivates me. I understand how it is at work in me.
II. Heart (Passion)
A. Explanation
1. Passion for this one is a better word then heart, however heart looks better on my outlineļ
2. Hear is something that will be hard for us to admit as Christians
3. There are areas in our lives were we are more pensioned about
4. There are different people we are more pensioned about then others
5. Let me give you a few examples
6. I do not know what to do with infants. I really do not have much heart in the area of infants, does that mean that I do not like little kids? No, It just means I do not have that passion as I do with say youth, young adults, adults
7. I do not do that well with emotionally challenged people. Does that mean they are not important? NO! It means I am probably not the one to reach them
8. Is it wrong to have a bigger passion about one group over another?
9. NO! It is just the way we are wired
10. By the way in the course of your life those areas of passion will more likely then not change, Will I have a different understanding of infants if I ever have a kid, yeah I will
B. Application
1. But what does these mean for our church?
2. Do we have ministries that reach all the people that you could think off?
3. Are we forgetting a group?
4. Are we ignoring a group?
5. If we do not have people in your passion area, you might be the key to reaching out to them
6. If we do not have a ministry to those people in your passion area, you might be the key to starting one
7. If we do have a ministry to the people in your passion area, you might be the key to energizing that ministry!
C. Illustration
1. Why do people sign up for the military? Why do they risk their lives over in IRAQ? Why do they go through the tough training? Because they have passion for our country. They care about our country. So they serve our country with passion. You know what I am glad they do! It is nice to have freedom
III. Ability (natural)
A. Explanation
1. All of us have natural ability
2. The same natural ability? NO
3. There are basically four different grouping if you will for ability
a) Mechanical-technical (The ability to fix, create, make (
b) Communicative-verbal abilities
c) Relational ¡V interpersonal abilities
d) Leadership ¡V administrative ¡V Organizational
4. Everyone person who is alive has abilities
5. Some might have more then others
6. Some might be a jack of all master of none
7. But regardless of our ability we are to use it for the Giver of the ability, God
B. Application
1. What does that mean for our church?
2. God gave you different ability then the person sitting by you
3. Use them!
4. Use them to glorify God
C. Illustration
1. When the military accepts you the do a Varity of test to find out what ability you have, and then assign you according to your ability
2. Look for areas you can serve based on your abilities
3. Find the different ministries that use your abilities
4. Chances are most ministries need people with all sort of abilities, rather then just one
5. Let me give you example, if we started a bread-making ministry, and gave visitors a fresh loaf of bread and you had a natural cooking ability, you would probably enjoy that ministry. If you had a passion for visitors and can not boil water without burning it, that ministry probably would not be most suited for you.
6. That is how it works out
IV. Personality
A. Explanation
1. Each one of us also have different personalities
2. Thank you Lord, for giving us different personalities
3. Could you imagine if we all had the same personality
4. I am not sure what would happen.
a) Either we would all end up killing each other
b) Or we would be the most boring people I have ever meant!
5. Who hear has the correct personality?
6. All of us! We all have the personality that is correct for us
7. None of us are the same, none of us will be the same
8. Again there are different personality test, I have seen about 40 of them
9. They all have good points and not so good points
10. Understanding that we are different is key though, it will eliminate a lot of frustrations
B. Application
1. But how can we apply this to Bakerstown Alliance Church?
2. It will take all of our personality to maximize ministry
3. There will be people you meet in your life because of your personality that you will naturally connect with easier
4. There will be people in your life that you will have a hard time with
5. That is why we need everybody serving
6. In order to reach different people with different personalities, we need full cooperation
7. Different personalities should never be shunned they should be accepted
C. Illustration
1. I had to take a personality test a while ago. The test was fine, nothing really that surprising to me. Except when we went over it. The facilitator of the test, first of all would not let me see it, second he would mention the areas that I was particularly unbalanced. It basically had two opposites and measured how close to the middle you were. Those areas that I was one sided on ¡§I need to be balanced¡¨
2. That is not true, that makes up your personality
3. That is the way you were created.
4. Difference in personality is not a problem
5. If, you are serving God using your personality
V. Experience
A. Explanation
1. Who hears has had a life like mine?
2. NO ONE!
3. I have not have a life like yours, you want to know why?
4. We all have different experiences in life
5. We all have had events that have molded us in our lives
6. Crisis experience usually change us
a) Maybe a physical injury has caused you to be a different person
b) Maybe there is an emotional event that you have never been the same since
c) Maybe something in your life happened, good or bad, that you have never been able to get over
7. Those are you experience, they will shape you
B. Application
1. What does that means for our church?
2. Our experiences have made us who we are
3. Don¡¦t hide from those experience
4. Don¡¦t think people don¡¦t want to hear them
5. God let us experience things so that we might be able to use them later in life
6. I can not tell you how many times I have had people come up to me and thank me for sharing something that has happen to me because of what they are going through
7. Be honest be open
C. Illustration
1. I am going to pick on Jeremy Crofett. As you know he and Mary have been helping out in Kid¡¦s Club. Why? Because of his experience. Because of what he went through he, his experiences, he is using that to serve the kids at Kids Klub
2. That is what experiences do for us
3. Hey what you have gone through in this life, can be used to serve
4. By the way let me throw this though out there, if you have lived a good life, if you have stayed out of trouble, if you lived a ¡§Good¡¨ life. SHARE THAT EXPERIENCE. It is wonderful.
5. You do not need to go out get in trouble, to have an ¡§exiting Testimony¡¨. That is existing stuff.
Conclusion
A. We all have SHAPE!
B. The question is then are we in SHAPE?
C. Are we exercising our SHAPE?
D. Or are we out of SHAPE?
E. This whole series is about strengthening our Church by fulfilling God¡¦s Purposes
F. When it comes to serving how are we doing?
G. Are we not meeting all the areas?
H. Are we not letting people serve in areas they would be good at?
I. Maybe you are not sure of SHAPE, I admit that I have given you a ultra quick overview
J. If you want to look at this more closely, 724-443-7040 or 724-444-1167 or on your way out talk to me, we will set something up
K. Maybe you realized that because of your shape you need to be involved in ministry, hey talk to me, talk to the leader of which ever ministry it might be, and give it a shot, we will let you try it for a while before sign you up for a life time.
L. Maybe you realized there is an area out there that fits your particular shape that we are not meeting.
M. Tell me about it, tell me what you are thinking. Even if you don¡¦t know the specifics, start sharing; I would love to hear about it.
N. Diversity is not bad, it is good.
O. Think about the person you know who has the nicest eyes
P. Now imagine if you can, a body made up of all those eyes, 4000 sets of eyes.
Q. That would look weird wouldn¡¦t it
R. Thank you Lord for making us a different and letting us serve according to our shape.
