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Good
morning, church!
Well,
you are never real sure what I may do, are you? I am dressed like
a
basketball player today to remind us that our relationship to Christ, our
Christianity is not a spectator sport.
It is a relationship that asks, indeed, demands that we participate.
I’ve
never been a very good spectator anyway, just as I played some sports in the
past, I have discovered that my most fulfilling moments, my most satisfaction
comes from participating. And the great
thing is, that the more years that pass from when I actually played until the
present, the better I was!
The
scripture for today speaks to us about being participants in the vision of MCC
– Changed Lives! It points out that
Spiritual gifts have been given to believers, to those trying to walk in the
will of Christ. AND, it says that we
are to USE these gifts, or, to stop being a spectator.
Now,
I will state up front that there are some here who are not ready to hear
this. This may be your first time here,
you may have just started your spiritual journey, or, for whatever reason, you
are just not ready. And, that’s ok. I
am speaking today to those of us in the congregation who are ready to use their
gifts for the building up of the body of Christ, so that all the needs of the
church are met.
The
other “disclaimer” I have is that sometimes I’m not very good at all the gender
neutrality thing. I may quote scripture
using “he” or “him” but please know that means all of us.
Romans
12:6-8 talks about 7 Spiritual gifts.
These spiritual gifts are our motivation, our drive, our reason that we
do different ministries. We exercise
service based on our gift. AND, every
believer has at least one gift, maybe more than one. So, listen carefully, because you have a gift, whether you have
realized it yet or not.
AND,
I invite you to participate today by taking notes on my comments, either on
your bulletin or your attendance card.
What
are those 7 gifts? Romans 12:6 says,
“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. Oh, oh,
you may be saying, Toni is talking about some of that weird stuff about
foretelling the future that is mostly in the Old Testament and doesn’t apply
today.
Well,
friends, prophecy is not just about foretelling the future. A prophet is also someone who has a strong
sense of justice, of right and wrong, AND, must express something about that
right or wrong. Today’s prophet has to
speak up when he/she sees a wrong committed.
They can identify the character and motives of other people and must
speak up against wrong or deceitful acts.
A prophet can see what is going on when others cannot. The prophet is willing to express
discernment of another’s motive. They
want to correct the issue quickly and look for immediate results.
Maybe
you have that strong sense of right and wrong AND have a need to express
it. Maybe the ministry in which you can
exercise this tremendous gift is our Community Outreach team. Maybe you need to run for the board at some
point. The body of Christ needs today’s
prophets, much like Christ and his followers needed Peter, who spoke out,
sometimes even rebuking Christ.
What
is the second gift? Verse 7 says “If it
is serving, let him serve.” So, we have
the spiritual gift of service. The
person with the gift of service has a keen alertness to detect the needs of
people and takes steps to meet those needs.
They are sensitive to people in need, they remember the likes and
dislikes of the person they serve. Our
example in the New Testament of a great servant leader was Timothy. Phillipians 2:19-20 says, “I hope in the
Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I
receive news about you. I have NO ONE
ELSE like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.”
The
person with the gift of service has a joy in serving others, they give
untiringly and want to know they have done a job and done it well. If you, my friend, have the spiritual gift
of service, you can serve in any ministry of the church. This gift can be put into action in so many
ways. Let me give you an example or two
here at MCC. One of the most obvious is
the CHEF ministry and this is indeed a ministry that allows someone with the
gift of service to us their gift. Other service ministries are very visible and
obvious. What about those that are not?
For
example, we have many dedicated folks with the gift of service who make it
possible for us to “do church”. All of
the preparations for taking Communion don’t just happen. There is a wonderful, dedicated group of
folks who see to it twice each Sunday, week after week, that we have the
elements for taking Communion. You
probably don’t even know who they are – they are the servant leaders who take
an interest in our welfare, just as Timothy did.
The
altar is decorated each Sunday and changed with the church seasons by the
Visual Arts team that works quietly behind the scenes so that our altar
reflects those seasons.
We
enjoy the warmth in here in the winter and the cool in the summer because of
our property maintenance team.
My
guess is, that for the most part, you don’t even know who all serves our church
in the manner of Timothy, who “takes a genuine interest in our welfare.”
Look
on the backs of your bulletins – there are many many opportunities to manifest
your spiritual gift of service.
What
is the 3rd spiritual gift according to Romans? Verse 7 goes on to say: “If it is teaching, let him teach.”
Luke
was a great example of the use of the gift of teaching in Jesus’ time. Luke 1:1-4 says: “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that
have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who
from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully
investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write
an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the
certainty of the things you have been taught.”
The
teacher wants to have truth conveyed, to “turn the light on”, to have us know
the certainty of things. The teacher is
led to present the truth in a systematic progression. They understand and believe in the importance and accuracy of words. They like to report and research facts and
details and delight in doing that. They
dig up, check resources and get into lots of detail and facts that may not be
noticed by others. The teachers among
us help us discern the truth about God’s surpassing love.
The
gift of teaching can take many forms.
Thank God for the gift of teaching we have in Bob Goss. Each time he speaks, I learn more of the
“facts” and the “details” of Christ’s time that somehow got lost or glossed
over in my church as a youth.
We
need people with the drive, the motivation, to pass on to our children the good
news of Jesus Christ. If that is your
gift, maybe your ministry is children’s church. Maybe it’s to run for the board.
We need those persons to help us with the facts and details that some of
us may tend to overlook sometimes.
Ok,
let’s move on to the 4th spiritual gift as outlined in Romans. Verse 8 says, “If it is encouraging, let him
encourage.” Some Bibles use the word
“exhortation”. The “exhorter”, or the
“encourager” is the one who will walk by our side. The encourager wants to see us growing spiritually, to discover
our potential in our spiritual life.
One of the best examples of the encourager was Paul. Colossians 1:28-29 says about Paul’s labor
for the early church, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with
all wisdom, SO THAT WE MAY PRESENT EVERYONE PERFECT IN CHRIST. To this end I labor, struggling with all his
energy, which so powerfully works in me.” Paul wanted to see the early Christians
grow spiritually.
How
many of you have had someone in your life encourage you to grow in some
way? I bet everyone here can remember a
teacher, a family member, maybe even a stranger, someone who saw something in
you maybe even you didn’t see. Can you
remember someone who encouraged you to realize your potential?
Have
you encouraged someone to use a talent for God’s work? Have you invited someone to stay for the
hospitality offered after each service?
Have you encouraged someone to participate in the groups we offer that
deal with the hurt of the past? If your
spiritual gift is that of the encourager, every team in this church needs
you. Just choose the ministry that best
lives out your gift.
The
5th gift according to Romans 12 is that of giving. Verse 8 goes on to say, “If it is
contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously.” If you have the gift of giving, you live
out the principle, “As we give, we receive.”
“As we give, we receive.” This
is a beautiful cycle to get into. This
is the verse that we often use to talk about stewardship, tithing. Giving means not just giving of our money,
but also our time and talent. People
with the gift of giving can see the end result, the possibilities of living out
the principle of “As we give, we
receive.”
The
example in the Bible was Matthew, who spoke more about money, finances, and
stewardship than any of the others.
Matthew had been a tax collector.
The
next spiritual gift found in Romans is in verse 8 also, “If it is leadership,
let him govern diligently.”
We
can use the word administration for leadership. Also organization. The
leader is the one who stands out front, who has a huge responsibility. We have many leaders here, you may be one of
them. Our leaders must be positive
thinkers at all times because God wants positive people to keep looking to God
for provision. We had our share of
negative thinkers and thoughts after Teena left. I acknowledge this is part of the grieving process. But how glorious that we have leaders like
Susan Lukwago and Cyd Dodson and Jackie McNeil and both Kathy Allens who kept
admonishing us that this is part of God’s plan, to look to God for provision.
I
also believe leaders are those who take action when they see a need. At our service where Marsha Stevens was our
guest, there arose a need to have a signer in front for our non-hearing
congregants. Hallie Lindeman saw the
need, and took action. The PST issued a call for help and leaders like Jeff ,
Steve , Jennifer , Susan L., Del, and Karen stepped up and said, “We can do
this, how can you use us?”
If
we make application of God’s principles, God can change our lives!!
And
that brings us to the 7 gift as outlines in Romans, that is, the gift of
mercy. Romans 12:8 ends with, “If it is
showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”
Now,
it is no accident that the first gift in Romans is that of prophecy and the
last is mercy, because, people with these dominant gifts drive each other
crazy!!
The
person with the gift of mercy is all about love and tenderness, not hurting
someone’s feelings, being sensitive to one another. A person with the gift of mercy can walk into a room and sense
the feeling level, they can feel the joy or the distress, and tend to move in
the direction of people with problems.
They have the capacity to weep with joy. They want to remove the inner hurts of their brothers and
sisters. They reach out with genuine
love and caring. Now, please do NOT
misunderstand, the person with the gift of prophecy loves as well. They just want to get to the problem, tell
the truth no matter how it sounds or feels, and see the right thing done. If Peter was the prophet, John was the
tender and loving one.
How
do you manifest, celebrate, and communicate God’s surpassing love if you have
the spiritual gift of mercy? Again,
look at your bulletins, each ministry we have needs people with the gift of
mercy. This entire body of Christ needs
people with all the 7 gifts. Your board
has all 7 gifts on it, and I thank God for that.
We
have discussed the 7 Spiritual gifts as described in Romans. They are: Prophecy, service, teaching,
encouraging, giving, leadership, and mercy.
What is your gift, or gifts?
Maybe you are not sure. Here are
the next steps to your discovery of your gift.
First,
pray for God to help you discover your gifts and listen for the answer. Now, the answer could take several forms.
(story about flood). Seek out someone
to help you discover what your gift may be.
Both Rev. Sue and Rev. Dale are ready to help you on that journey. In fact, the 3rd part of the Look
at Membership deals with spiritual gifts.
Next,
give thanks to God for your gift, EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW YET WHAT IT IS! Let me repeat that, give thanks to God for
your gift, EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW YET WHAT IT IS!
Then,
acknowledge your gift to yourself and others.
Start
using your gift for the glory of God and for “Changed Lives”.
Remember,
like sports for me, Christianity is not a spectator sport. If you have been
feeling a tug on your heart,and not just today, that is probably the Holy
Spirit encouraging you to begin using your gift/gifts. The Holy Spirit, by the way, is the great
Encourager, and may be, right now, encouraging you to acknowledge and USE your
spiritual gift.
MCC,
just like the early church, needs all of these spiritual gifts to meet the
needs of the church and the community.
Don’t be a spectator, use your gift, get involved.
Would
you pray with me please?
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