You've Got Talent

It sounds easy but in actual practice, staying out of the Spirit’s way can be tough because our flesh tends to get in the way. Our pride wants us to be the best, so it’s not interested in spiritual gifts like discernment or hospitality. Our fear tells us we can’t do it, so we shy away from healing or prophesy or evangelism. Our laziness tells us that it sounds like a lot of work with no guarantee of success.

Like Paul says, we have to remember who’s living in us, Who’s presence dwells within us. “The Holy Spirit” – who displays God’s power through each of us … not because we’re special but because God needs us to help the entire church or body of Christ. He gives us what we need when we need it to accomplish His purposes and plans. But it doesn’t go away or disappear because the Holy Spirit in us never goes away or disappears. The gift merely recedes until God needs it again.

When we understand that all our gifts come from the same Source … that it is God who decides which gifts and when … then I have no business lording my spiritual gifts over anyone. Instead of the diversity of our gifts being a source of tension, they can and should be a source of celebration. We should encourage and appreciate each other’s gifts.

Paul’s third directive is to understand that our diversity is part of God’s divine plan. In verses 4-6, Paul explains: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit …there are different kinds of service, but the same Lord … there are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” Look at how totally God is involved in the giving or use of our gifts. The Spirit … the Lord, Jesus … and God, the Father … these verses help us to see how the entire godhead is involved in the giving of gifts and how God expects us to use those gifts. Paul uses the body in verses 12-26 to explain how our diversity is meant to be a source of strength and unity and not a source of conflict and tension.

The brain is a pretty important organ but without the eyes and ears to gather information, without a mouth to communicate its thoughts, it’s pretty much a useless lump of tissue. Without hands and feet, the brain would starve to death. By the same token, without the brain, the eyes and ears and the body would be helpless. Even the parts that need to be covered up … such a great way to put it … are important to the life and survival of the body. What would happen if we couldn’t eliminate waste or reproduce? The body would die and its genetic legacy with it. Philippians 2:13 reminds us: “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” Because God is at work within us, we can accomplish His purposes. The Corinthians had elevated what they believe to be the more spectacular gifts and were giving more attention to the spiritual stars in the church and failing to see or understand the importance of ALL the gifts and, more importantly, forgetting the Source of all their gifts.

Paul challenged them, and he is challenging us today, to incorporate diversity into our understanding of Spiritual gifts and how God uses that diversity to accomplish His purposes and plans. We have all been gifted differently so we act differently and we serve differently. Let me give you an example. Last week we had a beautiful luncheon in the fellowship hall to celebrate our 20th year in this wonderful facility. Supposed someone dropped a plate of food on the floor. The person with the gift of prophesy might have pointed out that that is what happens when you are not careful. The person with the gift of service would have helped you clean it up. The person with the gift of teaching would have explained that the reason you dropped the plate was that it was too heavy on one side. The person with the gift of exhortation would have told you to let someone else carry it for you the next time. The person with the gift of giving would have given you their plate. The person with the gift of mercy would have reassured you that it could have happened to anyone. And the person with the gift of administration would have immediately organized a cleanup team.