The Gifts of the Spirit

The Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-31)

please open your Bibles this morning to 1 Corinthians 12:12
one rainy morning years ago, I walked to school
as a primary school youngster, I, like many others, was fascinated by all things to do with rain: worms, puddles, and the like
like other kids, I would not walk around puddles, but most of the time directly through them
I remember reading that the act of jumping over a puddle is quite a feat
and so, I remember this seemingly uneventful moment as if it happened yesterday, even though I was probably only 8 years old
I approached a puddle approximately one foot in diameter
and as I approached it, my legs sprung and propelled me not just up, but over that puddle
and I landed exactly where I wanted to on the other side
and I did it all without really having to think about it
it involved the coordination of the muscular system in both my legs, as well as my abilities of perception and balance
and I walked on
now this sounds silly
but it just goes to show how dependent each member of the physical body is on the other members
my eyes located a place to land
my legs sprung me into the air
the fluid in my ears kept my sense of balance
my arms helped me keep balance
and my feet landed and kept me walking
now, imagine for a moment that my eyes, legs, ears, arms, and feet all had personalities of their own
as I started to jump, my eyes said, "Land over there!"
and my legs responded, "Mind your own business, I’ll land wherever I want"
then my feet jump in, and say, "Watch out! I’m about to get wet!"
and then my ears respond: "Stop all the yelling! I won’t get wet up here"
I would get all wet, lose my balance, possibly hurt myself, and especially hurt my ego
I probably couldn’t walk or do practically anything without falling and being clumsy
if the members of my physical body acted independently, I would be in a terrible mess
interestingly, the Bible says that the church is one body
the Spirit-filled life, according to the Scriptures, is one if interdependency
just as the members of a physical body work together interdependently, so you and I as individual members of the body of Christ are to work together to accomplish God’s will
let’s read the passage in 1 Corinthians 12
(1 Corinthians 12:11) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
(1 Corinthians 12:12) The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
(1 Corinthians 12:13) For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
you’ll notice from this passage that EVERYBODY IS NEEDED IN THE BODY
as Charles Stanley says, "Everybody is somebody in the body"
you are part of a living organism called the body of Christ
you are not the entire organism; you are merely one part of that organism
and so am I
just as in our bodies, each member is related and dependent on the other parts of the body, so it is in the church
you are not independent; you are part of the body of Christ
many people feel that they are insignificant members of the body of Christ
they may feel that their gifts are inferior and unimportant
in some churches, some gifts are elevated above others
preachers are given many strokes; in some churches, those who speak in tongues are put on a pedestal
Paul addresses this in the next few verses:
(1 Corinthians 12:14) Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
(1 Corinthians 12:15) If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
(1 Corinthians 12:16) And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
(1 Corinthians 12:17) If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
(1 Corinthians 12:18) But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
(1 Corinthians 12:19) If they were all one part, where would the body be?
(1 Corinthians 12:20) As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
there is absolutely no need for you to feel inferior in the body of Christ
you are an absolutely essential part, and without you the body of Christ would be missing something
if something ever stops functioning or encounters problems in your body, you don’t wait very long before taking corrective action
let’s take something small like a tooth
I can guarantee that you don’t take long before fixing an abscessed tooth
if one lung collapses, you don’t say, "Oh, well, I have another lung, everything will be okay"
if your finger breaks, you don’t just ignore it and get along with the other good fingers
and so it is in the body of Christ
(1 Corinthians 12:21) The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"
let’s be honest: you are needed in the body of Christ
none of us could ever say, "I don’t need you. I’ll get along fine without you"
the Spirit has given you an absolutely vital role in this church
can I tell you what this means?
you are a somebody in the body
you bring a unique contribution to the body of Christ that no one else could bring
Bill says something I like
he says, "I’m not the chairman of the board – everyone is the chairman of the board"
he’s right
Bill is important in this church, and brings a valuable contribution to the church
but let’s get this straight – you are an equally important person in the church, and you bring an equally valuable contribution to the body of Christ
(1 Corinthians 12:18) But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
another thing this means is that we need to make sure there is no division in the body
(1 Corinthians 12:25) so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
(1 Corinthians 12:26) If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
(1 Corinthians 12:27) Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
instead of being divided, we need to show concern for one another
if one Christian suffers, all the Christians in the body of Christ are affected
if you’ve ever had a toothache, that one little tooth screams for attention in your entire body
it doesn’t matter that the tooth is small, and that all the other parts of your body are functioning fine
all you can think about is that aching tooth
when one member of the church suffers, we all suffer
we need to care for each other and make sure there is no division in the body, because if one member of the body stops functioning, it means that we all suffer
YOU’LL ALSO NOTICE FROM THIS PASSAGE THAT ALL OF US HAVE BEEN GIVEN A SPIRITUAL GIFT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BODY
(1 Corinthians 12:7) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
(1 Corinthians 12:8) To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
(1 Corinthians 12:9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
(1 Corinthians 12:10) to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
(1 Corinthians 12:11) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
you have been given a spiritual gift
God has put us together and has ensured that all each believer has a significant role in the body of Christ, and that when we work together, we accomplish his purposes
you know, our spiritual gifts are simply the manifestation of the Spirit
we can’t take credit for it
it’s not simply a matter of possessing natural abilities or skills
the Spirit enables us to do things far beyond our natural abilities
whatever gift you have, don’t take credit for it! it’s the Spirit
the flip side of that is this: don’t every complain about your gifts
your gift is significant, because it’s the manifestation of the Spirit
whatever your spiritual gift, it is valuable and no less important than any other spiritual gift
according to verse 7, your spiritual gifts are for the benefit of the body
they’re not for your own good
the primary purpose of your gift is to build up the body of Christ
your eyes are completely useless apart from their service to the body
your ears can listen all they want, but they’re of no use if they don’t communicate that information to the body
and so it is with you: your spiritual gift is only of value as you use it for the benefit of the body of Christ
your gifts are God’s way of administering his grace to others
we become channels through which Christ’s ministry flows
in Mother Theresa’s book A Gift from God, she wrote, "We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be in heaven with him right now. To be happy with him at this very moment. But being happy in his presence means loving as he loves, helping as he helps, giving as he gives, serving as he serves, rescuing as he rescues, and being with him for all the 24 hours. Because we touch him when we touch others."
when a pastor uses his gifts to exhort believers, he is showing God’s grace to the people
when a nursery worker enters the infantry, I mean nursery, he or she is showing God’s grace to those little children and the parents
when a member cleans the church and uses their spiritual gift of service, they are showing God’s grace to the entire body
when a believer visits somebody who is sick, they are exercising their gift of mercy and showing God’s grace to that person
they way God works is through you and me
Charles Stanley tells the story of a painter who fell of the roof
as he fell, he cried out, "God, help me!"
just as he prayed this, is overalls caught on a nail, and he found himself hanging just below the gutter
he reached up and pulled himself on to the roof, and said, "Never mind, God, this nail caught me"
like the painter, we’re in danger of missing what God is doing
we see things as purely human, when in fact they are divine acts
when somebody ministers to you with their spiritual gifts, it’s not really them – it’s the Spirit
don’t ever make the mistake of thinking it’s all the pastor’s job
if you look at Ephesians 4:11-12, the pastor’s job is not to do the work but to get the people to do the work – to equip you to use your spiritual gifts
some churches hire one or more pastors and expect them to do all the work
when they aren’t proficient in all the spiritual gifts, the church trades the pastor in for a new model
and a few years later finds out that he lacks some gifts, and trades him in, and so on
but God didn’t give pastors to do all the work in the church
because the pastor doesn’t have all the spiritual gifts
Paul teaches very clearly that pastors are to equip you to do the work of the ministry
one of the greatest joys in a pastor’s life is when he realizes that you pay me to get you to work
now that’s a great job
another thing we notice is that spiritual gifts are distributed as the Holy Spirit wills
(1 Corinthians 12:11) All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
(1 Corinthians 12:18) But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
you know, you don’t get to choose your spiritual gifts
the Holy Spirit gives them to you as he wills
let’s wrap up by looking at one more passage
(1 Peter 4:10) Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
(1 Peter 4:11) If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
it’s absolutely essential that you begin using whatever spiritual gift you have been given to serve others
I don’t know what your spiritual gift is
maybe you don’t know
but you can find out
how? I’ll give you a simple answer: just get out there and get busy
start working on something that captures your interest, that you feel passionate about
it might take a while, but usually we only discover our gifts as we get busy
it might take a while of trying one thing and another, but what you’re doing is looking for something in which you have been gifted, and to which you can commit for the long haul
I know you’re busy
in fact, if anyone ever came up to me and told me they weren’t busy, I think I would die of a heart attack
Charles Stanley points out that if you’re not using your spiritual gifts, you’re robbing the body of Christ, you’re forcing other members to carry your load, you’re a dead weight on the body, and you’re out of touch with the Spirit of God
but if you make using your spiritual gift a priority, you’ll stop cheating the rest of us
you’ll bring your unique talents, skills and gifts to the body of Christ and show God’s grace to us
let me ask you a concluding question: what are you doing with the gift or the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you?
are you using them for the benefit of the body, or are you neglecting them?
are you taking them for granted? what will you say when the Master returns and asks how you have used this gift?
I want to share with you an amazing thought
do you realize that God has limited himself?
God limits himself through people
if we do ministry, he is able to minister through us
but if we don’t do ministry, God limits his ministry
he waits on us
in Word War II, a little French town had a statue of Christ in their town square
and when the bombing came, the bomb got the statue and pieces were broken off
they stored the pieces, and after the war began to rebuild the statue of Jesus
it had cracks now, but they appreciated it even more
to their dismay, the only pieces they couldn’t find were the hands of Jesus
and that was tough on them, because the hands had the nail prints and that was significant to them
they thought they would have to take the statue down, until one person slipped a gold plaque at the bottom of the statue that said, "He has no hand but ours."
all of a sudden the community began to understand something
we are his hands and the extensions of his ministry
Father, we thank you for this day, and we thank you for giving us all spiritual gifts
each of our gifts are valuable, and every member is important in this church
and they need to use their spiritual gifts to minister to the body
and now, Lord, we come and submit ourselves to you
every man and every woman
we consecrate our gifts to you
we ask your blessings upon those gifts
we ask your Spirit would take and use them for your glory
they may seem insignificant
there may be some who tried and have failed
encourage them, Lord
there may be some with great gifts who have had to learn to submit those gifts to the body so that the body could prosper
encourage them, Lord
we surrender and give you and consecrate this day and every gift we have
and as the church body leaves, may there be a sense within us that we’re part of the team
help us to learn that we become greater by becoming a servant of others
[commitment]
is there anyone here who hasn’t been using their spiritual gifts and is going to commit to embarking on a journey of discovery this morning?
take our gifts, mesh them together as a team at Park Lawn, for your glory, Amen.

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The Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-31)