Four Secrets of Significance (Romans 12:3-8)
- when I was a child, you could lock me in a room for ages – as long as you gave me some Lego to play with
- it didn’t matter how much Lego you gave me; I would make do
- I spent hours with the stuff, and to this day believe that Lego is the greatest toy that was ever invented
- take away the Meccano, take away Mr. Potato Head, even take away today’s Playstations and Color Gameboys, but don’t take away my Lego
- the highlight of my career in Lego was the year that I received motorized Lego
- it allowed me to create vehicles that actually moved
- but for me, nothing ever could compete with the simple, lowly Lego piece that you received today when you came in
- different colors, different configurations – some two wide, some one wide
- some of them two long, some four long, some eight long
- with those pieces, you could build anything – and I did!
- airplanes, cars, houses, offices, hospitals, jails
- you name it, I built it
- I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a real Lego display
- people actually construct models of the Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace in Lego
- this Christmas, I’ve already decided what I’m getting my daughter for Christmas
- I might even let her think that I’m buying it for her
- now, look at the Lego piece that you received this morning
- it doesn’t look like much, does it?
- what are you going to do with one piece of Lego?
- once in a while, I’m ashamed to say, when I found one piece of Lego lying around, I wasn’t too careful with it
- if it made it back into the Lego bin, great; if not, what is one piece of Lego worth?
- in fact, I think that if Lego pieces could think, they would feel rather insignificant
- significance is defined as “the quality of being important or being regarded as having great meaning”
- a piece of Lego, significant? give me a break!
- I’m pretty sure that most pieces of Lego, if they could think, would feel very insignificant indeed
- but I think pieces of Lego need to learn the four secrets of significance, don’t you?
- you don’t really look like you agree with me
- I think Lego pieces could really benefit if they knew four secrets that would completely transform the way they thought about themselves
- here’s the first secret I wish Lego pieces knew
- EVERY PIECE IS A GIFT
- isn’t that true?
- this morning, when you came in, an usher handed you a piece of Lego
- I don’t know what you did with it
- you still may have it, or you may have thrown it out or given it to someone else
- but you received a piece of Lego
- and it came from someone who had a reason for you to receive that piece of Lego
- there was a plan to you receiving that piece
- it was a gift
- now some of you might have looked at that piece of Lego and thought that it wasn’t worth very much, but you did receive some Lego, didn’t you?
- to illustrate this concept of having received a Lego piece, think of what the Bible says about the concept of spiritual gifts
- (Romans 12:6 NLT) God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.
- that’s the spiritual equivalent of saying that God has given everyone here a Lego piece
- let’s draw some parallels
- you didn’t choose the piece you got
- when you came in, the ushers should have just handed you a piece of Lego
- you might not have liked the color or the shape they gave you
- you might not even have wanted a piece at all
- you did not choose what you received
- you might have felt that your piece was insignificant
- answer honestly: how many people either threw away the piece of Lego they received or gave it to someone else?
- why did you do that?
- because you placed no value on the piece that you received
- that’s probably because you didn’t have to go out and buy it
- but I did! if you don’t value your piece, give it to me!
- or you might have wondered what this piece of Lego was for
- how many people asked questioned why on earth they were being given a piece of Lego?
- I’ll bet you’ve been wondering what that piece of Lego is for ever since you received it!
- the same reactions take place in the church when God passes out these supernatural abilities mentioned in Romans 12:6
- nobody chose the piece that God gave them
- I didn’t and you didn’t
- if we believe that God knows better than we do, then we need to accept that God has given us just the piece that we needed to have, and that no other piece in the world would be better suited to us
- and it also means that we can’t take credit for the piece that God gave us
- it’s him who gets the glory – not us
- but you might have looked at that supernatural ability that God has given you and undervalued it
- you might feel that you don’t have a piece, or that the piece God gave you is too small
- you might have questioned why God gave you a piece at all
- you’re struggling with significance
- but the first lesson that we need to learn is this: everyone has received a piece that came directly from God
- Romans 12:6 says it clearly: “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well”
- do you agree?
- every piece is a gift, and every person here has received a gift
- take a look at what you’ve been given
- value it
- it was given by God
- not only has everyone received a piece, but I think there’s a second secret
- EVERY PIECE IS PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
- isn’t that the truth?
- one piece of Lego by itself isn’t worth very much
- you can’t even do much with two pieces of Lego
- but once you start to put pieces of Lego together, watch out!
- because each piece of Lego begins to play its role in becoming part of something much bigger
- the best thing you could get me as a kid was more Lego
- once I’d built what I could with the Lego I had, it was time to move on
- and every time I accumulated new Lego, that Lego became part of something bigger
- Romans 12:4 reads:
- (Romans 12:4 NLT) Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,
- (Romans 12:5 NLT) so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has a different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.
- Paul used the concept of the human body to communicate something important
- if you look at any part of your body, it is important only inasmuch as it is connected to your body
- your hair is valuable, and I’ll bet you spend a lot of energy grooming it and caring for it
- but the minute that hair is cut from the body, it is thrown in the garbage
- a baby boy will suck his thumb all the time
- that’s not unusual at all
- but suppose that he sucked on a thumb that was not part of his hand
- that would be repulsive
- as long as the thumb a baby sucks is attached to the baby’s hand, thumb sucking is acceptable
- a person who is a nail-biter doesn’t pay any attention to a fingernail that he or she has bitten off
- why?
- because the nail is no longer attached to the body
- it is good for nothing but to be discarded and forgotten
- no one gets too upset about a piece of nail that has become detached from the body
- a thumb or a fingernail that is attached to the body is useful
- but once a part of the body becomes detached from the body, that part dies
- each part is a piece of something much bigger
- the only time that Lego is usefu l is when it’s connected
- the implication is this: God has given all of us a piece, and that piece only becomes useful as we use it as part of something bigger
- every piece is a gift, and every piece is part of something bigger
- you’re here for a reason – you’re part of something bigger
- there’s a third secret that would make Lego pieces feel more significant
- EVERY PIECE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY
- in preparation for today’s sermon, I visited the Lego website
- I’ll bet some of you never knew there was such a thing!
- I was amazed by the variety of Lego pieces that exist today
- there’s city Lego, Star Wars Lego, Mind Storms Lego; there’s even classic Lego
- there is incredible diversity in the number of pieces of Lego that have been created
- no one person could possibly have all the Lego that exists
- I’ve brought a few pieces of Lego up here to show you
- this is the floor
- this is the thing that I would always reach for first
- you have the door
- you have Lego people
- you have the basic building blocks to form walls
- but there’s no such thing as a spare piece when it comes to Lego
- Romans 12 says:
- (Romans 12:6) We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
- (Romans 12:7) If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
- (Romans 12:8) if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
- it’s refreshing to read the diversity of gifts that God has given the church
- just as there are diverse needs within the church body, so God has given a diverse abundance of gifts to meet these needs
- and every believer has a share in the ministry
- let me tell you that there are gifts I have that you might not have
- and I guarantee that you have gifts that I don’t have
- there are things that you can do so much better than I can
- I am gifted in preaching/teaching and leadership
- some of you are much more gifted in the areas of serving, encouraging, showing mercy, and so on
- imagine a church which is taught by teachers, lead by leaders, and served by servers
- imagine a church in which everyone discovered the role they had to play, and used whatever piece they were given to build something bigger
- every piece is different, and every piece is important
- some big pieces get all the attention, but every piece is needed
- there’s no such thing as a spare piece
- you are needed
- you have a role to play here at Richview
- one final secret to helping a piece of Lego to feel significant
- EVERY PIECE IS DEPENDENT ON OTHER PIECES
- (Romans 12:5 NLT) And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.
- Tony Evans writes:
- “The beauty of the body of Christ is that it needs ears and noses and all sorts of parts…Every member of an orchestra doesn’t play the same instrument, but they all play the same song…each instrument in an orchestra is needed to fully express the music the conductor has chosen to play.
- “The body of Christ operates like a good orchestra: different parts doing their work, producing beautiful music under the direction of our divine Conductor, Jesus Christ. There is unity in the music, but diversity in the instruments.”
- we need each other
- we all have a different role to play, and when we come together and play our roles together, amazing things happen
- what are you going to do with your piece?
- God can use the piece that he has given you to set the stage for things far greater than you could dream of, far beyond the borders of your life
- consider a Sunday school teacher in Boston by the name of Edward Kimball
- one Saturday, Kimball decided to visit all the boys who came to his class to be sure that they knew Christ as their Savior
- one of these boys was busy in the back of his uncle’s shoe store stocking inventory
- his father died of too much whiskey when the boy was four
- he was part of a family of eight, reared in poverty by his strong-willed mother
- his education had been erratic, because he had been needed on the farm as a boy
- as a result of a visit by that Sunday school teacher at his uncle’s shoe store, that boy made a commitment to Jesus Christ
- that boy’s name was D.L. Moody
- he went on to become a preacher, and in a day without public address systems, he spoke to more than 100 million people, and hundreds of thousands began to follow Jesus
- even Billy Graham’s conversion can be traced to a succession of converts that extends from D.L. Moody
- and it all started with a Sunday school teacher in Boston by the name of Edward Kimball
- what are you going to do with your piece?
- it might seem insignificant
- but it’s not
- as for me, I’m going to keep my piece of Lego to remind me of the four lessons of significance
- every piece is a gift
- every piece is part of something bigger
- every piece has a role to play
- and every piece is dependent on other pieces
- what are you going to do with your piece?
