Stewardship Series #1 - Finding My Place in the Body (spiritual gifts)
Pastor Glenn Newton Sept. 11, 2005
1CO 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
1CO 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
This morning before you leave this service, I want you to understand one of the greatest truths that is found in the Bible, it is an awesome thing that God has done to help us in our Christian life. God’s Plan for you is that you will understand that you are a part of His Body, you represent, you actually become His Hands, His Feet, His voice, His healing agent wherever you are, whoever you talk too…. What an awesome responsibility!
This morning I want to encourage you with the Word, I want you to Find Your Place in the Body…. I want you to know what your Gift is and then use that Gift for the Glory of God as you build up the body with your service, with your life.
Isn’t it great that we are not all alike? God has created us all different. Do you see anybody in here that looks just like you? Do you know anybody in here that thinks just like you do? We are all different, the same Maker, just different models.
* How many here this morning know if the Razorbacks won or lost yesterday?
* How many people don’t really care?
* How many people here this morning drink Pepsi? How many Coke?
* How many people here always get things done on time? How many here wait till the last minute?
We could go on this morning, but what I want you to understand is that we are a very diverse group of people, but the Spirit of God living in us, brings us together, molds our hearts together for a common purpose… and we can love each other in spite of our differences…. This is one of the things that marks us as Chrisitians… it makes us unique.
So how do I find my place in the body? Thanks for asking… let me give you some steps to follow as you search for your place in His Body. Always remember that these gifts, and this Body belong to the Lord, it’s our privilege to be able to partake, to participate in God’s Kingdom work….
1st Step in Finding My Place in the Body - v.1-3 1CO 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
It’s kind of like driving a car, unless you learn how to start the car… you don’t need to learn about how to drive the car.
Paul is teaching the Christians in Corinth that the first step in finding their place is that the Spirit of God must be alive in their lives. You can’t discover your spiritual gift when you are not spiritually alive. That is just not possible. First things first.
The truth is there are a lot of people who call themselves Christians, but the reality is they don’t live for Christ, they haven’t repented of their sins, they don’t follow God’s commands. By definition, a Christian is a Christ Follower, a spirit filled believer who is obedient to the Word of God.
Paul says you can’t curse God, by using His Name in vain or any other means, and then Call Him Lord…. Those things don’t mix.
So, very simply this morning, the very first step in Finding Your Place in the Body is to Find your way to the Cross, where Christ died for your sins, He has paid our penalty that we all deserved, and He calls you out of your life of sin, and calls you to a life of Love and service, a life of Kingdom work. Are you living For Christ this morning? You will have the chance to make that life altering descision today when we close… what a difference Christ will make in your life when you put your faith in Him!
The 2nd Step in Finding My Place in the Body is Seeking God with all your Heart. Matt. 6:33 says, 33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
This morning I want to read to you the list of Gifts, different “experts” have come up with different numbers of Gifts, because some are similar, but I want to give you an idea of some of the Gifts that are given to believers through the Holy Spirit. If you will come on Sunday Nights for Discipleship, you will have the opportunity to learn about each one of these gifts and have the chance to truly seek what your spiritual gift is… listen to this list: Helps, Leadership, Hospitality, Service, Administration, Discernment, Faith, Music, Tongues, Miracles, Craftsmanship, Healing, Giving, Mercy, Wisdom, Knowledge, Exhortation, Teaching, Pastor/Shepherd, Apostleship, Missionary, Prophecy, Evangelist, Intercession
Friends, that’s quite a list, and each one of those gifts are needed in the church, every one is important in the Kingdom. Can you imagine a church that didn’t have people who exercised the gift of Service? Or Leadership? Or Mercy? This week I was thinking about how different people in our church exercise their gifts, and what our church would be like if we didn’t have them… we wouldn’t be who we are, and we would all suffer.
Let me give you an example: Gana H., now don’t we all just like to have fun with Gana? She’s so easy going and we like to give her a hard time don’t we? But one thing about Gana is that she has a heart for service. I wouldn’t doubt that one of her gifts is service. Why?
Because anytime I tell the church about a need we have, she is one of the first ones to volunteer to do the job, and she does the very best she can. She has just recently volunteered to teach our nursery children on Wed. nights so that “others” can enjoy their life groups. She has volunteered to be in the nursery when needed in S.S. so that others can attend SS class. Her Gift, given to her through the Holy Spirit builds up and strengthens our church… And Her Gift, when she uses it, can help her to know that she is being used by God for His purpose, for His Kingdom.
You see, sometimes we are always looking at those that are in front, those that teach or preach, or are in leadership.. Those positions are obviously needed, but every gift is vital to the church body… and every gift as it’s exercised should build up the church, never tear it down. Paul says in 1 Cor. 14:12, 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. 1 Cor. 14:12
The 3rd Step in Finding my place in the Body is, Exercise my gift so that the Body of Christ is Built Up.
I want to play a song this morning called “We are the Body” by Casting Crowns, the words will be displayed so that you can hear and see what’s being said. Think about how our gifts need to be exercised so that we build the body, instead of doing harm to the body. (Song)
Reaching, healing, Helping, Loving, If we are the Body of Christ…. These are the things that we should be doing, loving people, helping the hurting.
It is not about you. The very first sentence in the Purpose Driven Life… It’s not about You. If you are worried about You, then you have it all backwords…. It’s about Christ, and letting Him use you for His purpose, not for your own glory, but for His. As you learn to exercise your Gifts in the body, remember it’s His Body, it’s His Church, and it’s His Gifts, not yours…. He has given you these gifts for the church’s benefit, and if we exercise these gifts properly, His church will be built up, if we don’t, we can bring harm and hurt to the church… and we don’t want to be responsible for that do we?
The Great News today is that you have a place in this Church Family… the Body of Christ. God has brought you to New Hope Church of the Nazarene for a purpose, so that you can play an important role in His Kingdom. First Step… Are you Living For Christ, or are you Living for yourself…. You can’t serve both. If you are worried about your position in comparison to other people, your not serving Christ, your trying to serve yourself. We need to get first things first…. Ask God to make you spiritually alive so that you can receive and understand what your spiritual gift is.
2nd- Seek God with all your heart - Know that what He has planned for you in His Kingdom will meet the greatest desires of your heart… His plan for you is really Good.
3rd- Use your gift for the building up of the Church, the body of Christ.
